Mid Cap

  • January 27, 2025

    174-Year-Old Bookstore Says Its Story Won't End On Ch. 11

    Changes in customer buying patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic have led Books Inc., the Bay Area's oldest independent bookstore operator, to enter Chapter 11 with plans to close its Berkeley location early next month while continuing to operate 10 other shops in and around San Francisco.

  • January 24, 2025

    Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed

    The daughter of bankrupt Chinese exile Miles Guo is fighting a contempt bid brought by the Chapter 11 trustee of her father's estate. Brazilian airline Gol Linhas and Spirit Airlines are seeking to implement third-party releases in their respective Chapter 11 plans. And bankrupt financial technology company Synapse appears to be the subject of a grand jury investigation.

  • January 24, 2025

    Justices Urged To Review Souvenir Store's TM Fraud Case

    A Florida souvenir store chain has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its challenge to a Second Circuit decision foreclosing its arguments that a bankrupt beachwear company fraudulently procured a trademark registration to secure a $3.5 million settlement in yearslong litigation between the competitors.

  • January 24, 2025

    Opt-Out Releases Approved In Container Store Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas bankruptcy judge on Friday approved a prepackaged Chapter 11 plan for The Container Store that includes opt-out releases in favor of nondebtors, saying the provisions don't run afoul of the Supreme Court's recent Purdue ruling or of Fifth Circuit precedent.

  • January 24, 2025

    9th Circ. Renews Billing Co.'s Suit Against Texas Data Firm

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Friday partly revived a Washington billing services company's lawsuit over a soured business deal with bankrupt Addison Data Services, finding a bankruptcy settlement agreement and the statute of limitations can't keep the plaintiff from pursuing its breach of fiduciary duty claims.

  • January 24, 2025

    Mass Tort Atty Files Ch. 11 Owing $202M To Litigation Funders

    A Houston plaintiffs attorney has filed for personal Chapter 11 protection with more than $202 million of litigation funding liabilities, according to his petition in the Southern District of Texas.

  • January 24, 2025

    Grier Wright Tapped For Insurance Mogul's $2B Liquidation

    Bankruptcy attorney Joseph Grier of Grier Wright Martinez PA will serve as special master to identify, receive, track and distribute billions of dollars that will go toward restitution to victims defrauded by convicted insurance mogul Greg Lindberg, a North Carolina federal judge ruled.

  • January 24, 2025

    La. Judge Returns $22M Hurricane Ida Claim To State Court

    A Louisiana federal judge has sent a $22 million insurance dispute over oil drilling equipment damaged by Hurricane Ida back to state court, citing an invalid arbitration clause between the parties.

  • January 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Serta Ruling Gives Grist For Lenders Left Behind

    A Fifth Circuit decision rejecting mattress maker Serta Simmons' controversial "uptier" exchange offers new ammunition for an array of investors excluded from non-pro rata debt transactions, a development that could curb favored creditors and private equity firms' appetite for deals marked by so-called lender-on-lender violence.

  • January 23, 2025

    Pivot To Conventional Oil Offers Hope For Reorganized Vertex

    Fuel refiner Vertex has effectuated its plan to emerge from bankruptcy by recapitalizing with up to $100 million in new financing while handing equity to old lenders, and experts say it may fare better now by focusing on conventional oil production.

  • January 23, 2025

    US Trustee Objects To Blink Fitness Ch. 11 Plan Exculpations

    The U.S. Trustee's Office has urged a Delaware bankruptcy judge not to confirm Blink Fitness' Chapter 11 plan, arguing it is unfairly seeking to exculpate professionals for future acts and extend an injunction to third-party releases.

  • January 23, 2025

    CarePoint's Ch. 11 Docs OKd, But Confirmation Fight Looms

    Bankrupt hospital owner CarePoint Health Systems Inc. received approval of its Chapter 11 plan disclosure statement Thursday after a Delaware bankruptcy judge heard about a string of modifications that resolved objections, but some issues still remain ahead of a March confirmation hearing.

  • January 23, 2025

    NY Judge Scolds Firm Amid Rise In Real Estate Ch. 11s

    A New York judge stripped a local Long Island law firm of nearly all its retainer and the legal fees it had submitted for pursuing what he described as a meritless Chapter 11 case, putting attorneys on notice that they should think twice before contributing to the flood of landlords filing for bankruptcy in an effort to escape foreclosure in his district.

  • January 23, 2025

    GenapSys Says Paul Hastings Can't Keep Privileged Docs

    GenapSys is pushing back on Paul Hastings LLP's bid to force it to turn over documents that it had inadvertently released during discovery in a legal malpractice suit alleging that the law firm improperly drafted board documents that led to the "demise and liquidation" of the genetic-sequencing company.

  • January 23, 2025

    Resort Developer Can Tap Full $11M City-Funded DIP In Ch. 11

    A stalled developer received a Delaware bankruptcy judge's final seal of approval Thursday to use an $11 million loan funded by the California city where it planned to build a resort as it prepares to sell its assets in Chapter 11.

  • January 23, 2025

    White And Williams' NY Office Head Named Bankruptcy Chair

    The managing partner of White and Williams LLP's New York office has taken on the role of chair of the firm's financial restructuring and bankruptcy practice, where she plans to focus on improving the practice group's visibility while ensuring high quality of client service and helping its attorneys to excel.

  • January 22, 2025

    Reed Smith Rips Claim Firm Is 'Causing Chaos' In $102M Suit

    Reed Smith fought back Tuesday against allegations by the purported new owners of Eletson Holdings that the BigLaw firm is "causing chaos" by refusing to withdraw as counsel of record in $102 million breach-of-contract litigation, arguing that ownership of the international shipping group is "hotly contested" and being litigated in multiple jurisdictions.

  • January 22, 2025

    Creditors Want To Help Market Nostrum After Atty Turnover

    The official committee of unsecured creditors in drugmaker Nostrum Laboratories Inc.'s Chapter 11 case has asked a New Jersey bankruptcy judge for additional authority to help investment bank Raymond James find a buyer for the debtor's assets.

  • January 22, 2025

    Meet The Attys In Plastic Suppliers' Ch. 11

    Attorneys from Archer & Greiner PC are assisting Plastic Suppliers, a maker of compostable films and other plastic packaging, navigate its Chapter 11 case, while Porzio Bromberg & Newman PC is representing the official committee of unsecured creditors.

  • January 22, 2025

    Alex Jones Asks Conn. Justices To Review Sandy Hook Case

    Infowars host Alex Jones has asked Connecticut's highest court to review a $1.44 billion judgment for calling the Sandy Hook school massacre a "hoax," arguing his trial judge violated the state and federal constitutions by skipping causation, jumping straight to a default liability judgment and adding damages without proof.

  • January 22, 2025

    Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action

    Crafts retailer Joann Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 protection for a second time in less than a year, and plans to either sell its assets or liquidate the business. Mondee, an AI-supported travel agency app maker, has hit bankruptcy court with $49 million in financing provided by existing lenders. A New Zealand-based developer of AI-powered actuarial software, Montoux, is seeking Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition in Delaware, attributing its financial strain to ongoing trade secrets litigation against the company.

  • January 22, 2025

    Neumann's Flow Life Buys Miami Site For $70.5M In Court Sale

    WeWork founder Adam Neumann's latest venture, a real estate company called Flow Life, bought a 16-acre Miami development site in a court-ordered sale for $70.5 million, or double an initial stalking horse bid for the property in October.

  • January 22, 2025

    Lender Files Ch. 7 For Pa.-Based ATM Network Owner

    Silverview Credit Partners LP has filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petition in Delaware bankruptcy court against Blackford ATM Ventures, a Pennsylvania-based operator of a network of ATMs, claiming the company owes $28.6 million for defaulted loans.

  • January 21, 2025

    LED Screen Distributor Lied About $10M Debt, Jury Told

    The owner of a now-defunct LED screen distribution company lied to his Korean manufacturing partner about repaying an over $10 million debt in order to keep receiving shipments and pay himself a hefty salary, jurors heard as a civil fraud trial opened in California federal court on Tuesday.

  • January 21, 2025

    Ch. 11 Judge Slams Firm's 'Extraordinary' Lack Of Knowledge

    A New York bankruptcy judge has refused a fee bid and ordered a debtor's firm to return a nearly $30,000 retainer in a scathing opinion that warns lawyers against tiptoeing into bankruptcy practice and slams counsel for having an "extraordinary lack of basic Chapter 11 understanding."

Expert Analysis

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • Del. Ruling Shows Tension Between 363 Sale And Labor Law

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    The Delaware federal court's ruling in the Braeburn Alloy Steel case highlights the often overlooked collision between an unstayed order authorizing an asset sale free and clear of successor liability under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and federal labor law imposing successor liability on the buyer, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Del. Insurance Co. Liquidation Reveals Recovery Strategies

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    Arrowood's recent liquidation in the Delaware Chancery Court offers a positive development for policyholders and claimants, providing access to guaranty association protections amid the company's demise, say Timothy Law and Ann Kramer at Reed Smith.

  • The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy

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    A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.

  • Lender Agreements And Unitranche Facilities: A Fresh Look

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    Unitranche facilities — which offer blended interest rates in a single loan document — are gaining prevalence, and lenders and borrowers should understand their advantages, as well as concerns over the enforceability of a unitranche-style agreement among lenders in bankruptcy, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • What Banks Should Know About FDIC Assessment Rule

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    Max Bonici at Venable answers questions banking organizations may have about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent approval of a rule implementing a special assessment on banks to recoup costs associated with protecting uninsured depositors after the bank failures earlier this year, and highlights other considerations for uninsured deposits.

  • Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • Bankruptcy Must Be On The Table As A Student Loan Solution

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    Amid the ongoing discourse on student loan forgiveness, borrowers must have a deeper understanding of U.S. Departments of Justice and Education guidance regarding how the government will agree to discharge loans in bankruptcy, or miss a life-changing opportunity currently available to regain control over their financial condition, say Jonathan Carson and Eric Kurtzman at Stretto.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Rockport Ch. 11 Highlights Global Settlement Considerations

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    A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent rejection of Rockport’s proposed settlement serves as a reminder that there is a risk that a global settlement executed outside of a plan may be rejected as a sub rosa plan, but shouldn’t dissuade parties from seeking relief when applicable case law supports approval, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.

  • How Purdue High Court Case Will Shape Ch. 11 Mass Injury

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, addressing the authority of bankruptcy courts to approve nonconsensual third-party releases in Chapter 11 settlement plans, highlight the case's wide-ranging implications for how mass injury cases get resolved in bankruptcy proceedings, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

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