Bankruptcy

  • June 26, 2024

    Pharma Co. PhaseBio Can Exit Ch. 11 With Wind-Down Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave her blessing for pharmaceutical developer PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. to liquidate its assets and wind down after settlement agreements with creditors and a business partner cleared a path for it to exit Chapter 11 after roughly 19 months.

  • June 26, 2024

    A Picture Of Office Sector Distress

    This five-part series from Law360 Real Estate Authority explores distressed office buildings in Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Dallas and New York City in an illustration of how the stressors facing the asset class are playing out across the country.

  • June 25, 2024

    2 Federal Judges Stall Biden's Student Loan Debt Relief

    Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday partially blocked the Biden administration from implementing its latest student debt relief program, with both finding that Congress did not give clear authorization through the Higher Education Act for the loan forgiveness plan, as argued by the federal government.

  • June 25, 2024

    Cigna Objects To Ch. 11 Sale Of Western Pa. Nursing Homes

    Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. filed an objection in Pennsylvania bankruptcy court to the proposed sale of a group of Pittsburgh-area nursing homes, seeking assurances that it will be warned if the nursing homes intend to leave behind their contracts with Cigna as part of the sale.

  • June 25, 2024

    Texas Appeals Court Reverses Dallas Transit Contractor's Win

    A Texas appeals court has revived a subcontractor's lawsuit against a company that oversees the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority's services for people with disabilities, saying this week the subcontractor's allegations were strong enough to withstand a motion to dismiss.

  • June 25, 2024

    Sandy Hook Families Split Over Alex Jones Ch. 7 Stay Ask

    Two groups of plaintiffs that hold more than $1.5 billion in combined claims against right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his online media network have differing views on how those claims should be collected, taking opposite stances on a Chapter 7 trustee's request to pause collection actions against Jones' company.

  • June 25, 2024

    FTX Gets OK To Seek Creditor Votes On Ch. 11 Plan

    Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX Trading Ltd. can seek creditor votes for its Chapter 11 plan after a Delaware bankruptcy judge said he would approve the debtor's disclosures after overruling several objections.

  • June 25, 2024

    Chancery Tentatively OKs $15.5M Lordstown SPAC Suit Deal

    A $15.5 million class settlement for a stockholder suit that challenged the special-purpose acquisition company deal that took Lordstown Motors Inc. public won tentative Delaware Court of Chancery approval Tuesday, conditioned on confirmation of one expense claim.

  • June 25, 2024

    Noteholder Deal Spares Telecom WOM From Ch. 11 Dismissal

    Chilean telecommunications company WOM told Delaware's bankruptcy court it reached a deal with a group of noteholders and the unsecured creditors committee to resolve their bid to dismiss the debtor's bankruptcy case. 

  • June 25, 2024

    Lowenstein Sandler Picks Up Kilpatrick Bankruptcy Duo

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP built out its bankruptcy department on Tuesday by bringing on two attorneys from Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, one of them Kilpatrick's former bankruptcy co-head and both with years of experience in bankruptcy matters involving hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.

  • June 25, 2024

    Troutman Pepper Gets Restructuring Pro From Sidley Austin

    Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP has hired a seasoned attorney for its finance and restructuring practice who previously worked at Sidley Austin LLP for more than 20 years.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices End Irish Landowner's Fight Against $23M Clawback

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by Irish businessman Sean Dunne and his ex-wife Gayle Killilea to a Chapter 7 trustee's roughly $23 million avoidance action win, leaving intact a Connecticut jury verdict and a Second Circuit rejection of the onetime couple's claims.

  • June 24, 2024

    McDermott Investors See Partial Cert. In $6B CB&I Deal Suit

    Investors in energy industry engineering company McDermott International Inc. saw part of their proposed investor class certified as a lead plaintiff is sought for a second subclass in litigation over the company's $6 billion acquisition of Chicago Bridge & Iron Company NV.

  • June 24, 2024

    Cannabis Biz Greenrose Files $6.5M Ch. 7 In New York

    The Greenrose Holding Co. Inc., a cultivator and distributor of cannabis products, filed for Chapter 7 in a New York bankruptcy court, claiming over $6.5 million in liabilities it seeks to address through liquidation.

  • June 24, 2024

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    Amendments to Delaware's General Corporation Law topped the news out of the Court of Chancery again last week, as the hotly contested measure sailed through the state's legislature. Tesla and its shareholders continued their tug-of-war over attorney fees for Chancery litigation about Elon Musk's pay package, and new cases were filed involving biotechs, car rental companies, workout platforms, telecom towers, and a cargo ship fire in Brazil.

  • June 24, 2024

    Biotech Co. Hits Ch. 11 With Plans For Sale And 'Reboot'

    Virginia-based synthetic biology products maker Solar Biotech Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware with plans to sell its assets, saying a difficult capital market, the loss of a major client and the pandemic drained its cash and caused it to furlough employees.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Send 3 US Trustee Fee Cases Back To Lower Courts

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated three appellate court decisions ordering refunds to debtors who had overpaid U.S. Trustee's Office fees under a previous fee structure and remanded the cases for further adjudication after resolving the issue earlier this month.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices To Review If Ch. 7 Trustee Can Recover Tax Payments

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it would review a Tenth Circuit decision that found that the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee of a defunct Utah company could recover $145,000 in tax payments from the IRS.

  • June 21, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Distressed Deals, Housing Hurdles, Infill

    Catch up on this week's key state developments from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including tips for guiding distressed office deals, the latest intel from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and how one U.S. city has been a magnet for federal funding of brownfield projects.

  • June 21, 2024

    Crypto Vet With FTX Ties Launches Fintech Policy Think Tank

    Former congressional hopeful and cryptocurrency veteran Michelle Bond announced her formation of fintech policy think tank Digital Future, making a return to financial services policy after the recent sentencing of her partner, former FTX executive Ryan Salame, and FTX-linked donations to her 2022 campaign.

  • June 21, 2024

    Conn. Steel Co. Files Ch. 11 After Contractor Dispute

    A $2.29 million judgment and the sunsetting of the $7.5 million limit for a bankruptcy provision aimed at small businesses prompted a Connecticut steel company to hit Chapter 11 this week, an attorney for the debtor said at a hearing Friday.

  • June 21, 2024

    Union Tells 1st Circ. It's Fit To Bring Debt Cap Challenge

    A U.S. government workers' union challenging the constitutionality of the debt ceiling urged the First Circuit to ignore the Biden administration's argument that union members couldn't explain how it harms them, saying it's reasonable to expect their paychecks will be suspended when it is reimposed.

  • June 21, 2024

    Alex Jones Can't Appeal Bankruptcy Order On Debt To Victims

    A Texas federal judge has rejected Alex Jones' bid to appeal a bankruptcy court order that said he couldn't use his Chapter 11 case to avoid paying damages to the families of Sandy Hook victims, ruling that the legal substance of the right-wing radio host's proposed challenge had already been considered by the Fifth Circuit.

  • June 21, 2024

    Girardi Wants To Block Evidence Of Ex-Clients' Injuries At Trial

    At the upcoming fraud trial of disgraced attorney Tom Girardi, his defense attorneys want to exclude any mention of the horrific injuries suffered by the clients he allegedly stole from, while prosecutors want to introduce evidence that he allegedly spent $25 million to fund the lavish lifestyle of his celebrity ex-wife. 

  • June 21, 2024

    Paul Hastings Bankruptcy Ace Joins Greenberg Traurig

    Greenberg Traurig LLP added a Houston-based veteran bankruptcy attorney from Paul Hastings as a new shareholder.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • Balancing Justice And Accountability In Opioid Bankruptcies

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    As Rite Aid joins other pharmaceutical companies in pursuing bankruptcy following the onslaught of state and federal litigation related to the opioid epidemic, courts and the country will have to reconcile the ideals of economic justice and accountability against the U.S. Constitution’s promise of a fresh start through bankruptcy, says Monique Hayes at DGIM Law.

  • Proactive Measures While NY Foreclosure Law Is In Limbo

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    While questions about the scope and constitutionality of New York's Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act might not be resolved by courts for years, lenders, borrowers and other interested parties can take action to protect their rights and potentially expedite appellate review, say Allison Schoenthal and Andrew Kim at Goodwin.

  • Unearthing The Lesser-Known 'Buried Facts' Doctrine

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    A New York federal judge’s recent suggestion that the “buried facts” doctrine may be applicable in the fraud trial of FTX cofounder Sam Bankman-Fried should serve as a reminder to attorneys in all kinds of cases involving corporate disclosures that this lesser-known rule could torpedo their defense, say Corban Rhodes and Li Yu at DiCello Levitt.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Expands The Horizons Of Debt Discharge

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    The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s recent ruling in RS Air v. NetJets demonstrates that creditors should not be quick to conclude that their recoveries are limited if a debtor commences bankruptcy and receives a discharge, and should instead consider other potential paths for recovery, like alter ego claims, say Dania Slim and Claire Wu at Pillsbury.

  • How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing

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    Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats

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    Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.

  • How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies

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    Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.

  • Why Bankruptcy Is A Budding Alternative For Cannabis Cos.

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    A set of recent decisions from a California bankruptcy court regarding The Hacienda Co. signal a retreat from a zero-tolerance policy requiring dismissal of any bankruptcy case involving a cannabis-related business, and show why cannabis companies could benefit from having full access to the bankruptcy system, say George Singer and Rachel Gillette at Holland & Hart.

  • Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance

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    The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.

  • Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial

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    Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.

  • Justices Could Use Purdue To Resolve Related Circuit Split

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear Harrington v. Purdue Pharma to determine the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in bankruptcy, but justices should also take the opportunity to resolve a related circuit split over the constitutional authority of bankruptcy judges to issue final rulings on such releases, says Benjamin Feder at Kelley Drye.

  • Feds' Long-Term Debt Proposal Could Be Costly For US Banks

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    Federal banking regulators recently released a proposal for long-term debt requirements for certain U.S. banking organizations, which would significantly increase the cost of capital for most covered organizations, and the burden would be exacerbated by other factors in the current lending environment, say Matthew Bisanz and Anna Pinedo at Mayer Brown.

  • Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times

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    As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

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