Large Cap
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February 18, 2025
J&J Talc Unit Launches 2-Week $10B Ch. 11 Settlement Trial
A Johnson & Johnson spinoff began its case Tuesday for a $10 billion Chapter 11 settlement of the company's talc liability before a Texas bankruptcy judge while opponents of the deal questioned the legitimacy of the bankruptcy case and the plan vote.
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February 18, 2025
Willkie DQ'd, Guo Clawbacks Continue
Franchise Group must find new bankruptcy counsel after a judge in Delaware found Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP was conflicted in its case. The court-appointed trustee investigating Miles Guo's shell companies got another deadline extension to chase down estate funds. Spirit Airlines is awaiting confirmation of its reorganization plan. And bankrupt bitcoin miner Rhodium Encore has hit back at its landlord in court, alleging a campaign of sabotage.
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February 18, 2025
US Trustee Balks At Jones Day Fees In NY Diocese Ch. 11
The U.S. Trustee's Office is opposing some of the nearly $52 million in fees billed by Jones Day lawyers for their work as debtors' lead counsel for the Catholic diocese on New York's Long Island, as total fees in the case have surpassed $120 million.
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February 18, 2025
Steward Says Mass. Owes $22M For Withheld Patient Claims
Steward Health Care has sued Massachusetts in Texas bankruptcy court to recover $22 million, which the insolvent hospital operator alleged it is owed for treating low-income patients in Massachusetts after the company filed for Chapter 11 relief.
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February 18, 2025
Kossoff Ch. 7 Trustee Can Pursue Clawbacks After Court Win
The Chapter 7 trustee overseeing the estate of bankrupt law firm Kossoff PLLC has won permission to continue litigating clawback actions against some 50 parties, including Citibank and Bloomingdale's, after a New York federal judge sided with him in a dispute over the firm's decade-old tax obligations.
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February 18, 2025
Texas Boutique Gains 7 Attys In Bankruptcy Firm Tie-Up
Vartabedian Hester & Haynes LLP, a commercial litigation boutique founded in the Lone Star State last year, has added a seven-lawyer bankruptcy team in Fort Worth through a merger with Forshey Prostok LLP, including that firm's two co-founders.
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February 15, 2025
Real Estate Recap: Practice Pivot, Tariff Tax, Lennar's Lawyers
Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the latest shifts in real estate law practice, a Big Law leader's predictions for a looming tariff "tax" debate, and a look at the legal talent behind homebuilder Lennar Corp.'s $5.8 billion spinoff.
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February 14, 2025
Guo Ch. 11 Trustee Wins 3rd Clawback Extension, Seeks $38M
A Connecticut bankruptcy judge for a third time on Friday extended deadlines for a Chapter 11 trustee to file adversary proceedings against individuals and entities that received money from Chinese exile Miles Guo or his alter ego shell companies, noting that this order would be the final blanket extension.
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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.
Expert Analysis
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Justices' Ch. 11 Ruling Is A Big Moment For Debtors' Insurers
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Truck Insurance v. Kaiser Gypsum ruling upends decades of Chapter 11 bankruptcy jurisprudence that relegated a debtor’s insurer to the sidelines, giving insurers a new footing to try and avoid significant liability, say Stuart Gordon and Benjamin Wisher at Rivkin Radler.
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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.