Large Cap
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February 26, 2025
Judge To OK Sale-Leaseback Of Big Lots HQ In Ch. 11
A Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday agreed to allow discount retail chain Big Lots to sell its Ohio headquarters to hospital operator OhioHealth Corp. for $36 million and lease it back from the buyer until it wraps up its operations.
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February 25, 2025
Epiq Explains Ballot Flip In J&J Talc Unit's $10B Ch. 11 Plan
A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday heard how a claims agent accepted a ballot that flipped some 11,000 already cast votes on the Chapter 11 plan of Johnson & Johnson's talc liability unit.
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February 25, 2025
Alex Jones Asks To Maintain Stay On Sandy Hook Payment
Infowars founder Alex Jones told the Connecticut Appellate Court that he shouldn't be forced to pay the judgment that Sandy Hook families won in their long-running defamation case as he awaits a review by the state's Supreme Court, saying the plaintiffs are wrong that he discarded underlying constitutional arguments.
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February 25, 2025
How Joann's Bankruptcy Led To The Closure Of All Its Stores
Over the weekend, Joann Inc., the renowned fabric and crafts retailer, announced plans to close all 800 of its stores nationwide and wind down operations, after failing to draw bids from any potential buyers who planned to keep the stores open.
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February 25, 2025
NY AG Probe Latest Headache For Crumbling Property Empire
Following New York's passage of a tenant-friendly rent law in 2019, a spate of distressed Emerald Equity Group LLC properties are facing foreclosure or bankruptcy. Now, scrutiny by the state Attorney General's Office has added a new layer to the landlord's ongoing struggles.
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February 25, 2025
Purdue Gets Time To Document New $7.4B Ch. 11 Settlement
Counsel for bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma received approval Tuesday for an extension of a mediation window during which litigation against nondebtors is paused after telling a New York judge that it has reached definitive terms on a new $7.4 billion settlement of opioid claims and needs time to finalize documentation surrounding the deal.
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February 24, 2025
Ex-Judge Hopes To Avoid Testimony In Atty Romance Probe
Former Texas bankruptcy judge David R. Jones said Monday that he's been talking with the U.S. Trustee with the aim of avoiding "live trial testimony" in the probe of his undisclosed romantic relationship with a former Jackson Walker LLP partner, arguing that he's already given a deposition.
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February 24, 2025
Claimant Attys Explain J&J Ch. 11 Plan Vote Switch
An attorney whose firm represented about 11,000 talc injury claimants told a Texas bankruptcy judge Monday about the process by which he cast ballots for his clients in favor of the $10 billion Chapter 11 plan settlement proposed by Johnson & Johnson's talc unit.
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February 24, 2025
La. Environmental Suits Not Discharged In Texaco's Old Ch. 11
A New York bankruptcy judge has allowed Texaco to reopen its 37-year-old bankruptcy case to adjudicate environmental cleanup lawsuits worth up to $100 million filed by Louisiana government entities but declined to discharge the suits, finding they were carved out of the confirmed Chapter 11 plan.
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February 24, 2025
Seyfarth Hires Veteran Bankruptcy Atty For Chicago Office
Seyfarth Shaw LLP hired a veteran bankruptcy and commercial litigation attorney as a partner for the restructuring and insolvency team in its Chicago office, the firm has announced.
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February 24, 2025
Wellpath Delays Chapter 11 Exit To Buy Time For Creditor Deal
Wellpath will delay confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan by two weeks to buy time to work through objections to the reorganization of its prison healthcare business, attorneys told a Texas bankruptcy judge Monday.
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February 24, 2025
Purdue's New Ch. 11 Plan Sidesteps Nonconsensual Releases
Mediators helping to craft a new settlement in the case of bankrupt OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP said in their latest update in New York bankruptcy court that the company's revised deal does not contain nonconsensual third-party waivers.
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February 24, 2025
Spirit's Ch. 11 Marks Shift To Debt Reduction Over Cost Cuts
With fresh court approval of its Chapter 11 plan in hand, Spirit Airlines is set to emerge from bankruptcy carrying $795 million less in debt, marking a new generation of air carriers to file for bankruptcy in order to shave debt rather than cut operating costs, according to a Fitch Ratings report.
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February 24, 2025
Spirit Gets Ch. 11 Plan OK; J&J Unit Brings Ch. 11 Plan To Trial
A bankruptcy judge gave Spirit Airlines the all-clear to eliminate nearly $800 million in debt while giving creditors control over the business; Johnson & Johnson's talc spinoff went to trial over a proposed Chapter 11 plan; and the U.S. Trustee's Office took issue with the final $52 million fee application from lawyers for a New York Catholic diocese.
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February 24, 2025
High Court Won't Hear Bankruptcy 'Safe Harbor' Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a dispute over what transactions are protected from clawback by a trustee, leaving in place a Second Circuit decision finding that the U.S. Bankruptcy Code's safe harbor provisions trump the trustee's state-law based fraudulent transfer claims.
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February 24, 2025
Steward Health Risking Patient Lives At Hospitals, Buyer Says
The buyer of eight Steward Health Care hospitals said the bankrupt company is putting patients' lives at risk by failing to provide funds and services it promised, urging a Texas federal judge to compel Steward to comply with contracts it signed as part of its hospital sales.
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February 24, 2025
Zips Car Wash Gets 4-Member Ch. 11 Creditor Committee
The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog named landlords and trade vendors to advocate for unsecured creditors slated to get no recoveries in the Texas Chapter 11 of Zips Car Wash.
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February 24, 2025
Yellow Corp. Gets OK To Sell More Terminals For $15.1M
A Delaware bankruptcy judge has signed off on Yellow Corp.'s $15.1 million sale of trucking terminals and other property to three buyers, as the defunct trucking company looks to add to the more than $2 billion it has already brought in from asset sales in Chapter 11.
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February 21, 2025
J&J Talc Spin-Off Trial Details Law Firms' Rift Over Ch. 11 Deal
Personal injury attorneys on Friday described how their firms' long relationship turned sour last summer during the fourth day of trial in the Texas bankruptcy of Johnson & Johnson's talc spin-off.
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February 21, 2025
Real Estate Recap: 'Park Ave' Effect, Federal Leases, Atty Hires
Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including a fourth-quarter "Park Avenue Phenomenon" seen by top brokerages, industry reaction to the potential federal lease slimdown, and a senior analyst's projection for family office investment in commercial real estate.
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February 21, 2025
Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
Sticky's Chicken asked a New York bankruptcy judge to flip its Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 after cold and congestion pricing undercut its plans to reemerge from bankruptcy a healthier company, a former Silicon Valley Bank employee asked a bankruptcy judge to approve her late submission of a claim in the bankruptcy case of SVB's defunct parent and FTX defended adversary cases it brought over alleged fraud in the debtor's prebankruptcy acquisition of a stock trading platform.
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February 21, 2025
B. Riley Founders, Board Sued In Del. Over Investment Losses
A B. Riley Financial Inc. stockholder has launched a derivative suit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for the company in Delaware's Court of Chancery, alleging director conflicts tied to investments in now-bankrupt holding company Franchise Group Inc., led by a longtime friend of a B. Riley co-founder.
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February 21, 2025
US Trustee Opposes Opt-Out Releases In Tehum Ch. 11 Plan
The U.S. Trustee's Office objected Friday to the opt-out mechanism for obtaining third-party releases in the Chapter 11 plan from prison healthcare provider Tehum Care Services, arguing that it makes the releases nonconsensual.
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February 21, 2025
Why EV Maker Nikola Pulled Into Ch. 11
Nikola Corp., maker of electric and hydrogen-powered trucks, struggled with financial difficulties common to its field, the costs of litigation in which it became embroiled and expenses tied to a voluntary battery recall, cumulatively leading it to bankruptcy.
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February 21, 2025
Latham Promotes 19 Counsel To Partner In US, Europe & Asia
Less than three months after electing two dozen associates to the partnership, Latham & Watkins LLP said it has elevated 19 counsel from 14 offices around the world to partner, effective March 1.
Expert Analysis
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AI May Limit Key Learning Opportunities For Young Attorneys
The thing that’s so powerful about artificial intelligence is also what’s most scary about it — its ability to detect patterns may curtail young attorneys’ chance to practice the lower-level work of managing cases, preventing them from ever honing the pattern recognition skills that undergird creative lawyering, says Sarah Murray at Trialcraft.
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Considering Possible PR Risks Of Certain Legal Tactics
Disney and American Airlines recently abandoned certain litigation tactics in two lawsuits after fierce public backlash, illustrating why corporate counsel should consider the reputational implications of any legal strategy and partner with their communications teams to preempt public relations concerns, says Chris Gidez at G7 Reputation Advisory.
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It's No Longer Enough For Firms To Be Trusted Advisers
Amid fierce competition for business, the transactional “trusted adviser” paradigm from which most firms operate is no longer sufficient — they should instead aim to become trusted partners with their most valuable clients, says Stuart Maister at Strategic Narrative.
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Expect More Restaurant Ch. 11s As COVID Debt Comes Due
The wave of restaurant bankruptcies is likely to continue in the coming months as companies face the looming repayment of COVID-19 pandemic-era government loans, an uncertain economy and increased interest rates, says Isaac Marcushamer at DGIM Law.
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Mitigating Risk In Net Asset Value Facility Bankruptcies
In times of economic turbulence, parties to bankruptcy proceedings that involve net asset value facilities can mitigate risk by understanding the purpose of the automatic stay, complications it can create for NAV facility lenders and options for relief, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Tax Traps In Acquisitions Of Financially Distressed Targets
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Parties to the acquisition of an insolvent or bankrupt company face myriad tax considerations, including limitations on using the distressed company's tax benefits, cancellation of indebtedness income, tax lien issues and potential tax reorganizations.
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7 Steps To Take Before Responding To Claim Objections
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
When counsel is notified of an objection to the proof of claim in a bankruptcy case, they should contact the client and begin discussing the cost and benefit of responding.
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Tips For Handling Single Asset Real Estate Bankruptcy Cases
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Bankruptcy counsel should consider several strategies when representing either a debtor or lender in single asset real estate debtor Chapter 11 cases, which generally arise when a debtor is forced to file for relief to stop an impending foreclosure sale.
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How Methods Are Evolving In Textualist Interpretations
Textualists at the U.S. Supreme Court are increasingly considering new methods such as corpus linguistics and surveys to evaluate what a statute's text communicates to an ordinary reader, while lower courts even mull large language models like ChatGPT as supplements, says Kevin Tobia at Georgetown Law.
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Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles
Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.
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Ch. 11 Ruling Shows Early Attempt To Tackle Purdue Fallout
A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent ruling in Parlement Technologies’ Chapter 11 case, which denied a bid by Parler’s former owner to extend its bankruptcy stay to nondebtors, illustrates early efforts to grapple with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Purdue Pharma for a recurring bankruptcy issue, say Daniel Lowenthal and Jonah Wacholder at Patterson Belknap.
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9 Liability Management Tips As Debt Maturity Cliff Looms
As the debt maturity cliff swiftly approaches in this challenging environment, attorneys at Winston & Strawn highlight the top considerations for boards of directors and finance professionals to think about when structuring and executing liability management transactions, including reviewing capital structure, evaluating debt covenants, and more.
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Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.