Mid Cap

  • December 09, 2024

    Pro Se Giuliani Says 4 Attys Turned Him Down, Blames Judge

    Rudy Giuliani on Monday secured extra time to fight Georgia poll workers' request that he be held in civil contempt, time Giuliani argued he needed because he's struggling to find an attorney to represent him in the case thanks to a D.C. federal judge being "biased about Trump-related matters."

  • December 09, 2024

    Jones Says Waiver Gave Onion Unfair Edge In Infowars Auction

    Lawyers for Alex Jones on Monday stepped up their criticism of satirical news outlet The Onion's bid to buy the conspiracy theorist's Infowars website, urging a Texas bankruptcy judge to block the deal and hand Infowars to a company operating a supplements website instead.

  • December 09, 2024

    NY Diocese Plan Confirmed, Bankruptcy Bills Reintroduced

    A diocese covering 132 Roman Catholic parishes on New York's Long Island has secured confirmation of its Chapter 11 plan in a case it started four years ago. An Oregon federal judge has ruled that memos tied to an ethics scandal in the Southern District of Texas' bankruptcy court aren't shielded by attorney-client privilege. And members of the U.S. Senate have renewed legislation to ban the controversial "Texas two-step" bankruptcy maneuver and add protections for rank-and-file workers impacted by corporate insolvencies.

  • December 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Yemeni Man's Bid To Recover Atty Payment

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday revived a Yemeni man's bid to recover over $800,000 from his former attorney, saying a bankruptcy court didn't fully flesh out whether equitable tolling was warranted if the attorney secretly transferred the money elsewhere.

  • December 09, 2024

    Cooley Attys Sued For Malpractice In Tech Co. Ch. 7

    A trustee overseeing a software provider's Chapter 7 liquidation has accused a legal team from Cooley LLP of helping the company's CEO deceive investors and embezzle money while serving as its corporate counsel.

  • December 09, 2024

    Judge Grossman Reflects On 20 Years On Bankruptcy Bench

    After nearly 20 years on the bench in the Eastern District of New York, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Grossman will retire next June.

  • December 09, 2024

    Famous Steakhouse Chain's Ex-GC Gets Go-Ahead For Bias Suit

    The ex-general counsel of iconic steakhouse chain The Palm Restaurant can move ahead with a discrimination lawsuit claiming she was ousted after a 2020 bankruptcy sale, a New York federal court ruled Monday.

  • December 09, 2024

    Litigation Funding Firms Escape Hurricane Ad Suit

    Two litigation funders have succeeded in exiting a proposed class action alleging a law firm deceptively advertised to hurricane victims, with a Houston federal court adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation to toss claims for a lack of plausible allegations.

  • December 06, 2024

    Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed

    A Texas oil and gas driller is seeking permission to sell its oilfields, while the U.S. Trustee's Office is looking to shut another oil producer's yearslong Chapter 11 down, and creditors of a bankrupt medical implant maker are alleging the debtor's bankruptcy financing and sale plans are a way for its private equity sponsor to weasel out of product liability claims.

  • December 06, 2024

    Ga. Poll Workers Want 'Severe' Sanctions Against Giuliani

    The two former Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation verdict against Rudy Giuliani have asked a federal judge to hold the former Donald Trump attorney in civil contempt and impose "severe" sanctions for his "willful flouting" and "blatant disregard" of court orders.

  • December 06, 2024

    Creditor Says Failed Solar Biotech Bidder Shouldn't Get Fee

    A creditor of Solar Biotech asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to deny a request to pay the failed stalking horse bidder's $456,000 breakup fee, arguing there was no evidence the protections were necessary or that the bidder relied on them.

  • December 06, 2024

    Cancer Claimant Amici Slam Bestwall's Two-Step Ch. 11

    Georgia-Pacific unit Bestwall's bid to handle asbestos liability using a controversial "Texas Two-Step" Chapter 11 case is "grotesquely inequitable" and "plainly at odds" with the tenets of bankruptcy, a group of injury claimants in separate insolvency proceedings said in a brief urging the Fourth Circuit to toss the case.

  • December 06, 2024

    Conn. Panel Pares $150M From $1.44B Alex Jones Verdict

    The Connecticut Appellate Court on Friday sliced $150 million from a $1.44 billion trial court judgment against Infowars host Alex Jones over his claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, holding the state's consumer protection laws did not allow the massacre's survivors to recover for alleged harms connected to Jones' ancillary product sales.

  • December 06, 2024

    Calif. Trucking Company Files Ch. 11 With $325M Of Debt

    California-based trucking company KAL Freight Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in a Texas bankruptcy court, saying it has $325 million of debt obligations it can't meet after a post-COVID expansion effort foundered with slackening customer demand.

  • December 05, 2024

    Icon Aircraft Cleared For Ch. 11 Plan With Investor Claims Deal

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge said Thursday he would confirm the Chapter 11 plan from light-sport aircraft producer Icon after the debtor settled with a group of shareholders that sued the company in derivative litigation.

  • December 05, 2024

    Judge Tells Vintage Wine Estates, Lenders To Settle Row

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday instructed Vintage Wine Estates and its lenders to sit down with a mediator to resolve their differences over the funding for the wine producer's Chapter 11 case.

  • December 05, 2024

    'Texas Two-Step,' Exec Bonus Bankruptcy Bills Reintroduced

    Lawmakers in the U.S. Senate this week renewed efforts to pass two bankruptcy bills that would bolster rights for employees and crack down on the controversial use of so-called Texas two-step bankruptcies.

  • December 05, 2024

    Ex-CEO Of Solar Biz ISun Says Ch. 11 Plan Doesn't Add Up

    The former CEO of solar power company iSun is asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject the company's proposed Chapter 11 plan, saying it fails to provide for payment of priority claims, including his own deferred paychecks.

  • December 05, 2024

    Meet The Attorneys Directing Film Finances' Ch. 11 Case

    Global movie production services company Film Finances Inc. is using lawyers from boutique insolvency firm Levene Neale Bender Yoo & Golubchik LLP and Wilmington-based Bayard PA to direct its course through bankruptcy in Delaware.

  • December 05, 2024

    Lowenstein Sandler Suit Gets New NJ Judge After DQ Request

    Lowenstein Sandler LLP has persuaded an Essex County Superior Court judge to recuse himself from the firm's $800,000 fee suit against a cannabis dispensary over social connections to the litigants and their counsel and had the case assigned to a new judge this week.

  • December 05, 2024

    Insurance Giant Allianz Warns Of Rising Insolvencies In 2025

    Company bosses and their insurers could face increased claims next year from a predicted rise in corporate insolvencies and class actions, Allianz warned Thursday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Texas Oil Well Operator Moves Ahead On Speedy Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas bankruptcy judge Wednesday signed off on a timeline to confirm the prepackaged debt-for-equity Chapter 11 plan of oil and gas contractor Independence Contract Drilling, saying he'd save ruling on concerns from the Office of the U.S. Trustee releases and opt-out procedures until a January confirmation hearing.

  • December 04, 2024

    Alex Jones Atty Needs 30-Day Suspension, Ethics Boss Says

    The lead Connecticut attorney in Infowars host Alex Jones' Sandy Hook defamation trial should be suspended for 30 days for directing a subordinate to transmit the victims' personal medical records to other Jones attorneys, the state's legal ethics watchdog said Wednesday.

  • December 04, 2024

    Meet The Attorneys Directing The US Arm Of Stoli's Ch. 11

    A group of Foley & Lardner LLP attorneys is leading the Chapter 11 case for the U.S. arm of vodka giant Stoli Group, which filed for bankruptcy citing liabilities of $50 million to $100 million after the company faced asset seizure by the Russian government and cyberattacks during the summer. 

  • December 04, 2024

    Ideanomics Among Crop Of New Ch. 11s In Delaware

    Electric-vehicle technology company Ideanomics Inc. leads a new crop of Chapter 11 cases that hit the Delaware docket over several hours late Tuesday and early Wednesday, joined by debtors in the entertainment and fintech industries.

Expert Analysis

  • Discount Window Reform Needed To Curb Modern Bank Runs

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    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.

  • 2 Options For Sackler Family After High Court Purdue Ruling

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    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.

  • Revisiting Scalia's 'What's It To You?' After Kaiser Ruling

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    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.

  • Florida Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

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    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.

  • How To Clean Up Your Generative AI-Produced Legal Drafts

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    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.

  • Purdue Ch. 11 Ruling Reinforces Importance Of D&O Coverage

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    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.

  • Atty Well-Being Efforts Ignore Root Causes Of The Problem

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    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.

  • Parsing Justices' Toss Of Purdue's Controversial Ch. 11 Plan

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    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.

  • Del. Bankruptcy Ruling Will Give D&O Insureds Nightmares

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    In Henrich v. XL Specialty Insurance, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court recently found that a never-served qui tam claim had been "brought" before a D&O policy's retroactive date, thereby eliminating coverage, and creating a nightmare scenario for directors and officers policyholders facing whistleblower claims, says David Klein at Pillsbury.

  • No Matter The Purdue Ruling, Mass Tort Reform Is Needed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the bankruptcy of Purdue Pharma LP, and regardless of the outcome, it’s clear legal and policy reforms are needed to address the next mass tort, says William Organek at Baruch College.

  • How Associates Can Build A Professional Image

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    As hybrid work arrangements become the norm in the legal industry, early-career attorneys must be proactive in building and maintaining a professional presence in both physical and digital settings, ensuring that their image aligns with their long-term career goals, say Lana Manganiello at Equinox Strategy Partners and Estelle Winsett at Estelle Winsett Professional Image Consulting.

  • Insurers Have A Ch. 11 Voice Following High Court Ruling

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Truck Insurance Exchange v. Kaiser Gypsum — which reaffirmed a broad definition of "party in interest" — will give insurers, particularly in mass tort Chapter 11 bankruptcies, more opportunity to protect their interests and identify problems with reorganization plans, says George Singer at Holland & Hart.

  • Considerations For Cooperation Contracts In Loan Trades

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    Significant challenges to settling trades can arise when lenders of syndicated bank loans enter into defense-oriented cooperation agreements, which are growing in popularity, but working through these issues on the front end of a trade can save hours down the road, says Robert Waldner at Crowell & Moring.

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