Large Cap
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February 14, 2025
SmileDirectClub Trustee Gets OK To Hire Orrick
The Chapter 7 trustee liquidating SmileDirectClub can hire Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as special litigation counsel, a Texas bankruptcy judge said Friday, concluding that Orrick met U.S. Bankruptcy Code requirements, despite him not being notified earlier of Orrick's previous work for the trustee.
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February 14, 2025
Meet The Key Players In J&J's Talc Spinoff Ch. 11 Trial
Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit Red River is set to defend its Chapter 11 plan at a hotly contested, nine-day hearing that kicks off Tuesday, when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez will be asked to confirm a framework under which a $9 billion trust would pay out for claims that J&J's baby powder caused ovarian and other gynecological cancers.
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February 14, 2025
Conn. Diocese Reaches $31M Deal With Abuse Claimants
The bankrupt Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, has struck a deal to pay $31 million to sexual abuse survivors, the diocese and its unsecured creditors' committee jointly announced Friday.
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February 14, 2025
Joann Fabric Gets OK For Store Closures, Fast Auction
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Friday approved motions by Joann Fabrics Inc. to start holding going-out-of-business sales at more than half the crafts and fabric retail chain's locations, and to have an offer in hand for its remaining assets before the end of the month.
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February 13, 2025
Chinese Construction Co. Gets OK For $40M Ch. 11 Financing
CCA Construction Inc., a Chinese state-owned construction firm, received approval to fund its Chapter 11 case with a secured, $40 million debtor-in-possession loan from its parent company, overruling an objection from a developer that had won a $1.6 billion judgment against CCA.
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February 13, 2025
J&J's Talc Unit Ch. 11 Trial To Test Releases, Texas Two-Steps
A packed nine-day trial in Texas will determine the fate of Johnson & Johnson's latest talc liability spinoff, and it may test how companies are using the controversial "Texas two-step" bankruptcy maneuver in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision curtailing the use of third-party releases in Chapter 11, experts told Law360.
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February 13, 2025
Chancery OKs Appraisal Suit Fix For Sears Damage Ruling
A Sears Hometown Stores investor that saw its Delaware Court of Chancery share appraisal suit tanked by the company's bankruptcy in 2019 won a $4.06 per share payout ruling Thursday in a Court of Chancery decision focused on fair price and full and incremental damage claims.
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February 13, 2025
Spirit Airlines Ch. 11 Plan Releases Need More Consideration
A New York bankruptcy judge said Thursday the Chapter 11 plan of budget air carrier Spirit Airlines met the conditions for approval, but also told the parties he needed more time to consider the third-party releases proposed in the plan and whether they were consensual.
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February 13, 2025
Nursing Home Co. LaVie Inks Deal With IRS In Ch. 11 Case
LaVie Care Centers, an operator of skilled nursing facilities, received a Georgia bankruptcy judge's blessing on Thursday to settle a dispute with the IRS that represented a "final hurdle" in the company's Chapter 11 case, after the agency agreed to significantly trim its claims against the debtor.
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February 13, 2025
Sandy Hook Families Seek To Enforce Alex Jones Judgment
Infowars founder Alex Jones should be forced to pay the judgment that Sandy Hook families won in their long-running defamation case, even though he lodged a "baseless" appeal with the Connecticut Supreme Court in an effort to create further delays, the plaintiffs said.
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February 13, 2025
Orrick Hires Former Head Of A&O's Restructuring Practice
The former head of Allen & Overy's U.S. restructuring practice prior to A&O's transatlantic merger with Shearman & Sterling has joined Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in New York.
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February 12, 2025
Judge OKs Prospect Medical To Sell Two RI Hospitals
A Texas bankruptcy judge has approved bankrupt hospital operator Prospect Medical's request to sell its two Rhode Island hospitals to the nonprofit organization Centurion Foundation Inc. for $160 million, following the resolution of objections raised by the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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February 12, 2025
Willkie DQ'd Out Of Franchise Group Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday denied retail chain operator Franchise Group Inc.'s request to retain Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in its Chapter 11, saying issues stemming from a transaction it worked on before the bankruptcy are too central to the company's reorganization plans.
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February 12, 2025
PE Watchdog Sounds Bankruptcy Alarm, Faces Doubts
Private equity firms played a disproportionate role in large corporate bankruptcy filings last year, a nonprofit watchdog said in a report Wednesday, warning the trend may continue in a deregulated environment, though not everyone is convinced of the alarm.
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February 12, 2025
Spirit Opts For Ch. 11 Plan After Latest Frontier Bid
Bankrupt budget air carrier Spirit Airlines said it will pursue confirmation of its Chapter 11 debt swap plan at a hearing scheduled for Thursday, after it and competitor Frontier Group could not come to terms on a combination of the two companies.
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February 12, 2025
Conn. Opposes Bankrupt Prospect Medical's 'Plunder'
Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. must be held accountable for harm that the hospital operator caused in Connecticut, but first, its three facilities in the state need to quickly transition to new ownership, the offices of the attorney general and the governor told a Dallas bankruptcy judge.
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February 12, 2025
Joann To Close Over 500 US Stores In Second Ch. 11
Joann Inc., a fabrics and crafts retailer that reentered bankruptcy in January, asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday for permission to close more than 500 underperforming stores throughout the country that the company said potential buyers of the business aren't interested in taking on.
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February 12, 2025
Purdue Asks For Another Month To Work On Ch. 11 Deal
Purdue Pharma is asking a New York bankruptcy judge to extend the litigation shield for its former owners for another month, saying while it hopes to have a plan in writing by next week it still needs the breathing room to get the plan on file.
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February 12, 2025
Yellow Corp. Seeks OK For $15M Real Estate Sale
An investment banking advisory firm for bankrupt trucking company Yellow Corp. asked a Delaware bankruptcy court to approve three asset purchase agreements for properties owned by the trucking company that are worth $15.1 million.
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February 12, 2025
Skarzynski Marick Adds Duane Morris Bankruptcy Team in LA
Insurance coverage litigation boutique Skarzynski Marick & Black LLP is expanding its services, announcing Wednesday it is bringing over a team of Duane Morris LLP bankruptcy experts in its Los Angeles office.
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February 12, 2025
Blank Rome Adds 2 Ex-Otterbourg Finance Pros In NY
Blank Rome LLP has added the former chair of Otterbourg PC's banking and finance department and a fellow asset-based lending and corporate transactions specialist previously with that firm as partners in its New York office, the firm has announced.
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February 11, 2025
Celsius Crypto Spinoff Stockholders Sue For Board Docs
Stockholders of Ionic Digital Inc., a company formed to hold and operate digital mining assets of bankrupt Celsius Network LLC, have sued in Delaware's Court of Chancery for access to the company's stockholder lists in order to run a competing slate of directors.
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February 11, 2025
Guo Trustee Wants More Time For 'Mind-Boggling' Clawbacks
The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing convicted fraudster Miles Guo's bankruptcy estate on Tuesday testified that the complex task of unraveling millions in cash transfers without the Chinese exile's cooperation warrants a third blanket order allowing avoidance actions beyond typical deadlines.
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February 11, 2025
3rd-Party Releases OK'd In Rochester Diocese's Ch. 11 Plan
A New York bankruptcy judge Tuesday delayed approval of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester's Chapter 11 plan disclosure for a month to review last-minute changes, but he said he had made up his mind that third-party liability releases in the plan are acceptable.
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February 11, 2025
Wheel-Maker Accuride Gets Ch. 11 Reorg Plan Confirmed
Bankrupt wheel-maker Accuride Corp. received approval Tuesday from a Delaware bankruptcy judge for its Chapter 11 reorganization plan after resolving outstanding objections via late-night negotiations prior to a confirmation hearing.
Expert Analysis
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SVB Ch. 11 Shows Importance Of Filing Proof Of Claim Early
After a New York bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in SVB’s Chapter 11 case denied late claims filing requests related to post-bar date events, parties with potential claims against a debtor may need to seriously consider filing protective proofs of claim, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.
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High Court Made Profound Mistake In Tossing Purdue Deal
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to throw out Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 plan jeopardizes a multistate agreement that would provide approximately $7 billion in much-needed relief to help fight the opioid epidemic, with states now likely doomed to spend years chasing individual defendants across the globe, says Swain Wood at Morningstar.
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What FTX Case Taught Us About Digital Asset Recoverability
FTX's Chapter 11 plan has drawn lots of attention, but the focus should be on the anticipated outcome for investors, which counters several myths about digital currencies, innovation and recoverability, says Kyla Curley at StoneTurn.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Synapse Bankruptcy Has Ripple Effects For Fintech Industry
Synapse Financial Technologies’ recent bankruptcy filing marks a significant moment in the fintech industry's evolution, highlighting that stringent compliance and risk management in fintech partnerships are essential to mitigate risk and protect consumers, say Joann Needleman and Ryan Blumberg at Clark Hill.
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Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs
We learned during the spring 2023 failures that bank runs can happen extraordinarily fast in light of modern technology, especially when banks have a greater concentration of large deposits, demonstrating that the antiquated but effective discount window needs to be overhauled before the next crisis, says Cris Cicala at Stinson.
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2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently blocked Purdue Pharma's plan to shield the family that owns the company from bankruptcy lawsuits, the Sacklers face the choice to either continue litigation, or return to the bargaining table for a settlement that doesn't eliminate creditor claims, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.
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Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser allows insurers to be considered "parties in interest" in Chapter 11 cases, they still need to show they would face an injury in fact, answering the late Justice Antonin Scalia's "what's it to you?" question, say Brent Weisenberg and Jeff Prol at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2
The second quarter of 2024 brought two notable bills that will affect Florida's banking and finance community across many issues, including virtual currency abandonment, cancellation of financial services on the basis of political opinions, and the exemption amount of motor vehicles, say Joshua Prever and Andrew Balthazor at Holland & Knight.
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How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts
As law firms increasingly rely on generative artificial intelligence tools to produce legal text, attorneys should be on guard for the overuse of cohesive devices in initial drafts, and consider a few editing pointers to clean up AI’s repetitive and choppy outputs, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, holding that a Chapter 11 reorganization cannot discharge claims against a nondebtor without affected claimants' consent, will open new litigation pathways surrounding corporate insolvency and increase the importance of robust directors and officers insurance, says Evan Bolla at Harris St. Laurent.
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Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem
The legal industry is engaged in a critical conversation about lawyers' mental health, but current attorney well-being programs primarily focus on helping lawyers cope with the stress of excessive workloads, instead of examining whether this work culture is even fundamentally compatible with lawyer well-being, says Jonathan Baum at Avenir Guild.
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Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent nixing of OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma's Chapter 11 proposal prevents the Sackler family from settling thousands of civil opioid lawsuits without the consent of all of the plaintiffs, and holds profound implications for bankruptcy cases, say attorneys at MoloLamken.