Large Cap
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May 10, 2024
ABI Meeting Debates Purdue, DIPs, Data Breaches And Incora
Lawyers met in Manhattan for the American Bankruptcy Institute's daylong New York City Bankruptcy Conference on Thursday, taking in a packed day of panels on subjects ranging from Purdue Pharma to debtor-in-possession financing trends and the increasingly complicated presumption of transparency in bankruptcy.
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May 10, 2024
Full 4th Circ. Urged To Settle Key 'Texas Two-Step' Questions
A Fourth Circuit panel left critical issues open when it denied permission to an appeal challenging the so-called Texas two-step Chapter 11 of industrial equipment maker Aldrich Pump, asbestos claimants in two separate bankruptcy cases said, asking the full appeals court to reconsider hearing the case and settle questions that have plagued their own bankruptcies in the Western District of North Carolina.
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May 10, 2024
Baker Donelson Adds Bankruptcy Pro Amid High Demand
Firms are still scouting bankruptcy talent throughout the U.S., with Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC announcing Thursday that it has added a former Lugenbuhl Wheaton Peck Rankin & Hubbard attorney focused on bankruptcy and workout law.
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May 09, 2024
V&E Defends Its Enviva Work From Trustee's Conflict Claim
Vinson & Elkins LLP urged a Virginia bankruptcy court on Thursday to reject "outrageous claims" by the U.S. Trustee's Office that the law firm shouldn't be allowed to represent Enviva in the wood-pellet maker's Chapter 11 because the firm also works for one of the debtor's major equity holders, arguing that there is no conflict of interest.
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May 09, 2024
Bally Sports Parent Seeks OK For Renewed DirecTV Deal
The parent company of sports network operator Bally Sports has asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to approve renewed multiyear contracts with DirecTV, saying the revenue from the deal is a "critical component" of its post-Chapter 11 business plan.
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May 09, 2024
Syracuse Diocese Creditors Urge Contempt On Insurer Leaks
Unsecured creditors of the bankrupt Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse have asked a New York judge to hold insurers Interstate and an affiliate of Allianz in contempt for sharing confidential sex abuse survivors' claim information with third parties and failing to inform the debtor or the court.
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May 09, 2024
Hospital REIT Sees $736M Loss After Tenant's Ch. 11 Filing
Medical Properties Trust, a healthcare real estate investment trust, lost $736 million in the first quarter of the year from the financial collapse of Steward Health Care, a major tenant, and the write-off of an international joint venture, executives said Thursday.
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May 09, 2024
Texas Court Urged To Keep Alive Judge Romance Suit
In a flurry of filings, a former shareholder in an engineering company has pushed a Texas federal court to reject bids to throw out his lawsuit over an ex-bankruptcy judge's secret relationship with a former Jackson Walker LLP attorney.
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May 08, 2024
NY AG Says $6M NRA Verdict Should Stand
A New York state court should not undo a jury's finding that the National Rifle Association allowed its officers to misappropriate $6.4 million of donor money, the state's attorney general has argued, saying trial evidence abundantly laid out evidence of misconduct and organizational failures.
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May 08, 2024
FTX Says Full Recovery Coming Based On 2022 Crypto Price
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. has claimed its proposed Chapter 11 plan would be able to pay creditors in full with a $13 billion distribution that exceeds the estimated allowable $11.2 billion in claims, but the payout is based on the value of cryptocurrency in November 2022, when the exchange filed for bankruptcy protection.
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May 08, 2024
Bill To Undo SEC Crypto Accounting Bulletin Passes House
Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to overturn the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's controversial cryptocurrency accounting guidance despite protests from Democrats to take a more targeted approach to amend the directive and a White House pledge to veto the bill.
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May 08, 2024
99 Cents Beats Creditor Objection To Get OK On $61M DIP
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday approved discount store 99 Cents Only's full $60.8 million Chapter 11 financing deal after rejecting a group of noteholders' objection to the relief, finding an intercreditor agreement barred the group from blocking debtor-in-possession funding.
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May 08, 2024
Rite Aid Can Sell Analytics Arm Health Dialog For $2.75M
Pharmacy retail chain Rite Aid got the green light Wednesday from a New Jersey bankruptcy judge to sell most of its coaching and analytics division, Health Dialog, to healthcare technology firm Carenet Health for $2.75 million as it works towards confirming a Chapter 11 plan.
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May 07, 2024
Federal Courts Choosing To Stay Out Of Texas Grid Fights
The Fifth Circuit has again refused to wade into fights over actions taken by Texas' grid operator during a 2021 winter storm, further underscoring federal courts' reluctance to disturb the historic independence of the Lone Star State's electricity sector, attorneys say.
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May 07, 2024
SEC Says Morrison Can't Save Terraform From Disgorgement
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said bankrupt crypto firm Terraform Labs should remain on the hook for potentially $3.6 billion in disgorgement over its fraud trial loss, saying any claims that its unregistered transactions took place beyond the court's reach are undermined by the agency's congressional authority.
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May 07, 2024
Gronk, Others To Pay $2.4M In Voyager Crypto Promoter Suit
Retired football star Rob Gronkowski, NBA player Victor Oladipo and NASCAR driver Landon Cassill have agreed to collectively pay $2.4 million to settle allegations they helped promote failed cryptocurrency exchange Voyager Digital Holdings Inc.
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May 07, 2024
WeWork Wins Interim OK Of $50M New Money DIP In Ch. 11
A New Jersey bankruptcy judge said Tuesday he will approve $50 million of debtor-in-possession financing for WeWork, overruling objections from the office space provider's co-founder and ex-CEO Adam Neumann, whose lawyers alleged the financing agreement was actually an unfairly discounted asset sale in disguise.
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May 07, 2024
Celsius Judge Blasts Stretto's 'Inexcusable' Data Breach Delay
A New York bankruptcy judge slammed claims agent Stretto on Tuesday in response to the company's failure to notify Celsius Network customers affected by a data breach last month, an incident that compelled the crypto lender to pause distributions to creditors.
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May 07, 2024
Meet The Weil Attys Guiding Steward Health's Ch. 11
A team of attorneys from Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is representing Steward Health Care System LLC as the embattled hospital operator navigates Chapter 11 in a Texas bankruptcy court with more than $1 billion in debt.
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May 07, 2024
Steward Health Gets Ch. 11 Loan, Says It Plans Hospital Sales
A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday allowed Steward Health Care to take out $75 million in Chapter 11 financing to meet its next-day payroll after being told the hospital chain plans to sell facilities to pay down its $9 billion in debt.
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May 07, 2024
Judge Rips 2nd Circ.'s 'Erroneous' Ruling In Sears Lease Spat
A New York federal district judge ruled that Sears Holdings Corp.'s lease for the Mall of America in Minneapolis should be returned to the bankrupt retail chain's liquidating trustee, saying that the decision gives "scant comfort" as it removed from the books "an obviously outlier ruling" by the Second Circuit.
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May 07, 2024
Prepetition Waivers Sway Invitae Judge On Kirkland Hire
A New Jersey bankruptcy judge approved the retention of Kirkland & Ellis LLP as bankruptcy counsel for debtor Invitae Corp. Tuesday, the same day he approved a $239 million sale of its assets to Labcorp.
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May 06, 2024
Kwok Ch. 11 Trustee Pounces On Co-Defendant's Guilty Plea
The Chapter 11 trustee seeking to wrangle a company from an individual who allegedly received it from Chinese exile Ho Wan Kwok's former chief of staff Yanping "Yvette" Wang says Wang's guilty plea in New York criminal court negates her attempt to slow-walk a Connecticut bankruptcy court adversary proceeding.
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May 06, 2024
FCC Only Commits To Normal Review Of Soros-Audacy Deal
The FCC has informed two Republican lawmakers worried about Soros Fund Management's acquisition of an ownership interest in radio station owner Audacy that it will conduct a regular license review, but stopped short of promising the foreign ownership review that the legislators want due to their concerns about the fund's "deeply partisan" billionaire owner.
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May 06, 2024
WeWork Advances Plan, J&J's Third Filing, More Jones Drama
WeWork Inc. pushed forward a reorganization plan despite its former CEO's objections, Johnson & Johnson disclosed plans for a prepackaged bankruptcy case supported by a $6.5 billion settlement, and an appeals court upheld more than $400,000 in sanctions as part of bankruptcy proceedings for Georgia-Pacific's asbestos unit.
FTX Execs Find Order Amid Chaos To Make Creditors Whole
When cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. hit bankruptcy 18 months ago, its corporate records were a mess, its internal controls were non-existent and tens of billions of dollars in fiat and digital currency were scattered about the globe. Yet, efforts to straighten out the operation have led to a Chapter 11 plan where customers are slated to receive full recoveries.
Five Retailers That May Face Bankruptcy In 2024
Clothing stores, a discount retailer and a prominent fabrics business have already filed for bankruptcy protection this year, each struggling in their own way in the post-pandemic economy. Here are five more companies that may be at risk of filing for bankruptcy in 2024.
FTX Spurs Corporate Sleuths Nardello Into Ch. 11 Probes
Corporate investigations firm Nardello & Co. is known for probing corporate scandals and financial crime, but since being tapped in 2022 to investigate fraud at fallen crypto giant FTX, the firm has been expanding more into the potentially lucrative realm of bankruptcy.
Expert Analysis
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On Text Message Data
Electronically stored information on cellphones, and in particular text messages, can present unique litigation challenges, and recent court decisions demonstrate that counsel must carefully balance what data should be preserved, collected, reviewed and produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
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How Banks Can Preserve Value Amid Corporate Default Surge
Amid a busy time for corporate bankruptcies, banks need a nuanced understanding of contractual rights, regulatory frameworks and evolving legal developments to protect and preserve their rights and interests, say attorneys at Phelps Dunbar.
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Key Priorities In FDIC Report On Resolving Big Bank Failures
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s report last month on the resolvability of large financial institutions contains little new information, but it does reiterate key policy priorities, including the agency's desire to enhance loss-absorbing capacity through long-term debt requirements and preference for single-point-of-entry resolution strategies, say attorneys at Freshfields.
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The Art Of Asking: Leveraging Your Contacts For Referrals
Though attorneys may hesitate to ask for referral recommendations to generate new business, research shows that people want to help others they know, like and trust, so consider who in your network you should approach and how to make the ask, says Rebecca Hnatowski at Edwards Advisory.
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Ch. 11 Case Shows Why Plan Acceptance Procedures Are Key
Sunland Medical's recent liquidation plan proposal is an important example of how top-notch judges and attorneys propose and analyze complex issues during the confirmation process, and the bankruptcy court was forward-thinking to consider the implications of such proposed treatment in the face of the Bankruptcy Code, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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Risks Of Rejecting Hotel Mgmt. Agreements Via Bankruptcy
In recent years, hotel owners have paid a high price when they attempted to use bankruptcy proceedings to prematurely terminate their hotel management agreements, highlighting that other options may be preferable, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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NC Rulings Show Bankruptcy Isn't Only For Insolvent Debtors
Two recent rulings from a North Carolina bankruptcy court show that lack of financial distress is not a requirement for bankruptcy protection, particularly in the Fourth Circuit, but these types of cases can still be dismissed for other reasons, say Stuart Gordon and Alexandria Vath at Rivkin Radler.
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What Bankruptcy Deadline Appeal May Mean For Claimants
If the Third Circuit reverses a recent appeal made in In re: Promise Healthcare, litigation claimants within the circuit will not be able to rely on the proof of claim process to preserve the claim — but if the court affirms, the U.S. Supreme Court may need to step in to resolve the circuit split on this issue, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
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Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents
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.
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Wesco Ch. 11 Ruling Marks Shift In Uptier Claim Treatment
A Texas bankruptcy court’s recent decision in In re: Wesco Aircraft Holdings leaves nonparticipating creditors with a road map to litigate to judgment non-pro rata liability management transactions, and foreshadows that bankruptcy courts may no longer be a friendly forum for these types of claims, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.
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Charting The Course For Digital Assets In 2024
Although 2023 was a tough year for the digital asset industry, upcoming court decisions, legislation and regulatory action will bring clarity, allowing the industry to expand and evolve, and the government will decide what innovation it will allow without challenge, says Joshua Smeltzer at Gray Reed.
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Del. Ruling Shows Tension Between 363 Sale And Labor Law
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.
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How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.