Bankruptcy

  • June 28, 2024

    Chevron's End Is Just The Start For Energized Agency Foes

    By knocking down a powerful precedent that has towered over administrative law for 40 years, the U.S. Supreme Court's right wing Friday gave a crowning achievement to anti-agency attorneys. But for those attorneys, the achievement is merely a means to an end, and experts expect a litigation blitzkrieg to materialize quickly in the aftermath.

  • June 28, 2024

    Will 'Moral Victory' In Purdue Ruling Help Plaintiffs?

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision that the Sackler family members who own Purdue Pharma LP cannot be shielded by the bankruptcy code from lawsuits over the opioid crisis reflects the widespread public outrage over their role in the epidemic, but experts say it remains unclear what will happen next for the individuals and governments that have sued the company.

  • June 28, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Camping Ban, Mobile Money, Post-Surfside

    Catch up on this week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on an Oregon town's anti-camping ordinance, government incentives for manufactured housing communities, and the progress states have made toward building safety in the three years since the tragic condo collapse in Surfside, Florida.

  • June 28, 2024

    Girardi Wins Bid To Offer Mental Condition Testimony At Trial

    Tom Girardi's defense team can call a doctor to testify at his upcoming trial as to a potential "mental condition" that they say might indirectly have bearing on his intent to defraud clients, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting prosecutors' argument that the testimony is irrelevant.

  • June 28, 2024

    In Chevron Case, Justices Trade One Unknown For Another

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overrule a decades-old judicial deference doctrine may cause the "eternal fog of uncertainty" surrounding federal agency actions to dissipate and level the playing field in challenges of government policies, but lawyers warn it raises new questions over what rules courts must follow and how judges will implement them.

  • June 28, 2024

    Problems Linger Amid Efforts To Clean Up Debt Firm's Mess

    After the collapse of a California debt relief firm last year amid allegations of fraud, a bankruptcy judge signed off on a plan to allow a new firm to begin providing services for thousands of affected clients. While the new firm has promised to clean up its predecessor’s mess, some consumers say little to nothing has changed, and now enforcement agencies including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have started asking questions.

  • June 28, 2024

    Rite Aid Ch. 11 Plan OK'd With Insurers' Objections Resolved

    A New Jersey bankruptcy judge Friday approved pharmacy chain Rite Aid's Chapter 11 restructuring plan after the company said it had resolved objections from its insurance carriers to how the plan treats their policies.

  • June 28, 2024

    Girardi's Ch. 7 Evidence Fight May Raise Novel Issues

    Tom Girardi told a California federal judge that FBI agents violated his constitutional rights by obtaining evidence from his law firm's bankruptcy trustee without a search warrant, an argument that, if successful, could hamstring prosecutors in his upcoming wire fraud trial and shake up law enforcement's dealings with trustees.

  • June 28, 2024

    Judge Finalizes $4M Deal In Eye Doc Ransomware Dispute

    A North Carolina federal judge has signed off on a $4 million deal to resolve two class actions over an electronic patient recordkeeping and billing company allegedly failing to give truthful, timely notice to ophthalmology practices and their patients about ransomware attacks that damaged its software for months.

  • June 28, 2024

    Lincoln Logs Maker Basic Fun Inc. Files For Ch. 11

    Basic Fun Inc., the toy-maker behind Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Friday in a Delaware bankruptcy court, listing less than $100 million in assets and liabilities each. 

  • June 28, 2024

    Nixed Purdue Ch. 11 Plan May Leave States Ready For A Fight

    State attorneys general across the country could be gearing up for more opioid-related litigation against the Sackler family after the U.S. Supreme Court wiped out a $5.5 billion third-party release for the owners of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, experts told Law360.

  • June 27, 2024

    Texas Bank Moves For Partial Win In Ginnie Mae Loan Suit

    Texas Capital Bank told a federal judge that it's entitled to tens of millions of dollars in collateral on which it has a first-priority lien that it said Ginnie Mae wrongfully diverted to itself, and that the court has already addressed the issue that warrants partial summary judgment in its favor.

  • June 27, 2024

    SPAC Investors Get Final OK On $13M Settlement

    Attorneys who brokered a $13 million settlement on behalf of investors in special purpose acquisition company Pioneer Merger Corp. will receive about 30% of that settlement fund, minus nearly $100,000 that will go toward their clients' incentive award, a Manhattan federal judge has determined.

  • June 27, 2024

    Purdue Ruling Reshapes Conn. Catholic Diocese's Ch. 11 Plan

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday banning bankruptcy judges from forcing non-debtor third parties to release claims against other non-debtors quickly reshaped a proposed Chapter 11 plan for a Connecticut Roman Catholic diocese, as a creditors committee withdrew a $32 million abuse victim trust proposal and proffered an immediate replacement.

  • June 27, 2024

    Insurers Call Rite Aid Ch. 11 Opioid Deal Unfair

    Counsel for bankrupt drugstore chain Rite Aid told a New Jersey bankruptcy judge Thursday that it hopes to reach an agreement with at least some of its insurers on payments into an opioid settlement fund before closing arguments in its Chapter 11 plan confirmation Friday.

  • June 27, 2024

    Ch. 7 Can't Free PE Firm From Suit, Diamond Polisher Says

    A Canadian diamond polisher urged a Michigan federal judge to keep alive its suit alleging that a lab-grown diamond company's private equity owner knew it couldn't make good on its promise to fund new facilities to process the gemstones, saying the fact that the company is going through bankruptcy can't shield the PE firm from liability for using its alter ego to make fraudulent statements.

  • June 27, 2024

    Titanic Purdue Ruling Shifts The Balance Of Power In Ch. 11

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the Sackler family's liability shield in the Chapter 11 plan of Purdue Pharma LP not only eliminates a key tool to resolve mass tort liabilities through bankruptcy, it gives claimants more leverage and fundamentally changes the insolvency landscape in future cases, experts tell Law360.

  • June 27, 2024

    Justices Nix 3rd-Party Liability Releases In Purdue Ch. 11 Plan

    The U.S. Supreme Court shot down the validity of nonconsensual third-party releases in an opinion issued Thursday in the case of bankrupt drugmaker Purdue Pharma LP, potentially exposing the Sackler family members who own the company to personal liability for the company's role in the opioid crisis.

  • June 26, 2024

    Talc Co. Barretts' Creditors Push To Dismiss Ch. 11 Case

    Unsecured creditors of Barretts Minerals have urged a Texas bankruptcy judge to dismiss its bankruptcy following the debtor's sale of its talc business, arguing that Barretts remains in bankruptcy only to get its fully solvent parent company out of its talc liability.

  • June 26, 2024

    Judge Denies ConvergeOne Lenders' Bid To Halt Ch. 11 Plan

    A Texas federal judge has rejected a request by a group of ConvergeOne lenders to stay a bankruptcy court's order approving an equity rights offering included in the information technology company's Chapter 11 plan, ending the spurned lenders' challenge to a deal they claimed ran afoul of bankruptcy rules. 

  • June 26, 2024

    Gun Co. Co-Owner Tells Del. Justices That Partner 'Lied'

    A joint owner of a gun manufacturing business who accused his partner of duping him out of his 50% stake told Delaware's Supreme Court on Wednesday that the partner — who won the case — had repeatedly "lied" during Chancery Court litigation, so the trial court's decision should be overturned.

  • June 26, 2024

    Calif. Atty Won't Contest Claim He Stole Up To $282M

    A California lawyer has stopped defending himself against bar discipline charges that accuse him of stealing as much as $282 million from clients, and his posture has forced the cancelation of a trial that was scheduled for this week and makes his disbarment almost certain.

  • June 26, 2024

    Pharma Co. PhaseBio Can Exit Ch. 11 With Wind-Down Plan

    A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday gave her blessing for pharmaceutical developer PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc. to liquidate its assets and wind down after settlement agreements with creditors and a business partner cleared a path for it to exit Chapter 11 after roughly 19 months.

  • June 26, 2024

    A Picture Of Office Sector Distress

    This five-part series from Law360 Real Estate Authority explores distressed office buildings in Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Dallas and New York City in an illustration of how the stressors facing the asset class are playing out across the country.

  • June 25, 2024

    2 Federal Judges Stall Biden's Student Loan Debt Relief

    Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday partially blocked the Biden administration from implementing its latest student debt relief program, with both finding that Congress did not give clear authorization through the Higher Education Act for the loan forgiveness plan, as argued by the federal government.

Expert Analysis

  • 3 Defense Takeaways From The Bankman-Fried Trial

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    FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s recent fraud conviction offers several key lessons for future white collar defendants, from the changing nature of cross-examination to the continued risks of taking the stand, say Jonathan Porter and Gregg Sofer at Husch Blackwell.

  • Series

    Children's Book Writing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Becoming a children's book author has opened doors to incredible new experiences of which I barely dared to dream, but the process has also changed my life by serving as a reminder that strong writing, networking and public speaking skills are hugely beneficial to a legal career, says Shaunna Bailey at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    What Happens If High Court Rejects Releases In Purdue Ch. 11

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    Reading the tea leaves following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent arguments in Harrington v. Purdue Pharma, it appears likely that the justices will decide that bankruptcy courts lack the power to release third-party claims against nondebtors, which would result in one of three scenarios, says Gregory Germain at Syracuse University.

  • Del. Ruling Shows Tension Between 363 Sale And Labor Law

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    The Delaware federal court's ruling in the Braeburn Alloy Steel case highlights the often overlooked collision between an unstayed order authorizing an asset sale free and clear of successor liability under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code and federal labor law imposing successor liability on the buyer, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • How Clients May Use AI To Monitor Attorneys

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Artificial intelligence tools will increasingly enable clients to monitor and evaluate their counsel’s activities, so attorneys must clearly define the terms of engagement and likewise take advantage of the efficiencies offered by AI, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.

  • Del. Insurance Co. Liquidation Reveals Recovery Strategies

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    Arrowood's recent liquidation in the Delaware Chancery Court offers a positive development for policyholders and claimants, providing access to guaranty association protections amid the company's demise, say Timothy Law and Ann Kramer at Reed Smith.

  • How The NY AG Leads Investigations In Civil Securities Fraud

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    Although investigating white collar fraud can put significant strain on state and local resources, the New York Attorney General's Office has continued to use its expansive statutory authority to take a leading role in bringing civil enforcement actions in highly complex financial matters, say Carrie Cohen and Nathan Reilly at MoFo.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Navigating Asset Tracing Challenges In Bankruptcy

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    A Virginia court’s recent ruling in Health Diagnostic Laboratory Inc.'s bankruptcy highlights the heightened demand for asset tracing and the strategic use of the lowest intermediate balance rule in recovering funds from commingled accounts, says Daniel Lowenthal at Patterson Belknap.

  • Lender Agreements And Unitranche Facilities: A Fresh Look

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    Unitranche facilities — which offer blended interest rates in a single loan document — are gaining prevalence, and lenders and borrowers should understand their advantages, as well as concerns over the enforceability of a unitranche-style agreement among lenders in bankruptcy, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • What Banks Should Know About FDIC Assessment Rule

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    Max Bonici at Venable answers questions banking organizations may have about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s recent approval of a rule implementing a special assessment on banks to recoup costs associated with protecting uninsured depositors after the bank failures earlier this year, and highlights other considerations for uninsured deposits.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • Opinion

    Bankruptcy Must Be On The Table As A Student Loan Solution

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    Amid the ongoing discourse on student loan forgiveness, borrowers must have a deeper understanding of U.S. Departments of Justice and Education guidance regarding how the government will agree to discharge loans in bankruptcy, or miss a life-changing opportunity currently available to regain control over their financial condition, say Jonathan Carson and Eric Kurtzman at Stretto.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • Rockport Ch. 11 Highlights Global Settlement Considerations

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    A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent rejection of Rockport’s proposed settlement serves as a reminder that there is a risk that a global settlement executed outside of a plan may be rejected as a sub rosa plan, but shouldn’t dissuade parties from seeking relief when applicable case law supports approval, says Kyle Arendsen at Squire Patton.

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