Large Cap
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February 14, 2025
Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
The Chapter 11 trustee overseeing Chinese exile Miles Guo's bankruptcy estate hit dozens of new targets, including Salesforce and Grubhub, with adversary proceedings; the Chapter 7 trustee for Alex Jones asked permission to return deposits to bidders on Jones' assets; and the Office of the U.S. Trustee objected to the proposed plan of prison healthcare company Wellpath Holdings Inc., saying the plan contains impermissible third-party releases and Wellpath proposed an amended plan.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.
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Sellers Seeking Best Deal Should Focus On Terms And Price
Rising interest rates and a decline in the automotive mergers and acquisitions market mean that a failed deal carries greater stakes, and sellers therefore should pursue not only the optimum price but also the optimum terms to safeguard their agreement, says Joseph Aboyoun at Fox Rothschild.
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General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI
With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.
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Rite Aid's Reasons For Ch. 11 Go Beyond Opioid Suits
Despite opioid-related lawsuits being the perceived reason that pushed Rite Aid into bankruptcy, the company's recent Chapter 11 filing reveals its tenuous position in the pharmaceutical retail market, and only time will tell whether bankruptcy will right-size the company, says Daniel Gielchinsky at DGIM Law.
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Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information
As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.
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Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD
Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.
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A Look At DOJ's New Nationwide Investment Fraud Approach
Investment fraud charges are increasingly being brought in unlikely venues across the country, and the rationale behind the U.S. Department of Justice's approach could well be the heightened legal standards in connection with prosecuting investment fraud, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.
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Decoding The Digital Asset Landscape In Bankruptcy
Recent cases show the explosion of cryptocurrency as an asset class has created new challenges for debtors-in-possession, bankruptcy trustees, and federal and state receivers, and fiduciaries will have to consider a number of legal and practical considerations when determining how to manage these assets in insolvency, say David Castleman at Otterbourg and Anthony Facciano at Stretto.
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How Fla. Bankruptcy Ruling May Affect Equity Owners
A Florida bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Vital Pharmaceuticals — which rejected the Third Circuit’s Majestic Star decision that determined a bankrupt corporation’s flow-through status was not protected by the automatic stay — may significantly affect how equity owners can mitigate the impact of flow-through structures in bankruptcy, say Eric Behl-Remijan and Natasha Hwangpo at Ropes & Gray.
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Calif. Ruling May Open Bankruptcy Trustees To Tort Liability
In Martin v. Gladstone, a recent California appellate court decision, the application of tort concepts to bankruptcy trustees could pose a new concern for trustees and federal receivers when controlling and maintaining commercial property, says Jarrett Osborne-Revis at Buchalter.
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Co. Directors Must Beware Dangers Of Reverse Factoring
New accounting requirements governing the disclosure of so-called reverse-factoring programs have revealed billions of dollars worth of hidden liabilities on companies’ ledgers, and directors of corporate boards should review their companies’ books for this hidden danger, say Garland Kelley at Looper Goodwine, Amin Al-Sarraf at Locke Lord and Jill Basinger at Discovery Land.
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Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence
Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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Why 7th Circ. Libel Ruling Is Crucial For The Media
As more defamation plaintiffs attorneys argue that allowing a published statement to remain online after additional evidence of falsity emerges equates to actual malice, the Seventh Circuit's recent National Police Association v. Gannett opinion should be lauded by the media and online publishers as a favorable decision, say attorneys at Vedder Price.