Mid Cap
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February 07, 2025
3 Firms Seek To Co-Lead Suits Over Banks' Synapse Ties
Attorneys from three firms are seeking to represent fintech customers in consolidated class claims in Colorado federal court against several banks over $85 million in funds that went missing after the failure of fintech-to-bank middleman company Synapse Financial.
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February 07, 2025
For These Victims, Death Came Before Bankruptcy Resolution
Thousands of people have died with no compensation in recent years as big institutions shield themselves in bankruptcy court from claims related to opioids, fraud, asbestos and sexual abuse, plaintiffs' lawyers say. Critics say it's an inherent part of a bankruptcy court system that helps insiders and hurts creditors.
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February 07, 2025
Ex-NFL Star Romanowski's Bankruptcy Converted To Ch. 7
Former NFL player Bill Romanowski and wife Julie had their Chapter 11 bankruptcy case converted to a Chapter 7 on Friday, after a California judge called a filing from the couple seeking the case's dismissal full of "hyperbole" and said a trustee is needed to examine the pair's assets and liabilities.
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February 07, 2025
Trailer Cos. Sue KAL Freight Over Alleged Theft Of Vehicles
Two manufacturers of truck trailers have sued bankrupt trucking company KAL Freight Inc. in Texas bankruptcy court, saying the company ran a scheme to improperly take ownership of hundreds of trailers without paying for them.
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February 07, 2025
Under The Radar: Bankruptcy News You May Have Missed
A onetime financial adviser to UpHealth is opposing the debtor's Chapter 11 plan, Hearthside Food Solutions' official committee of unsecured creditors has balked at the company's executive bonus proposal in bankruptcy, and one-time investors in defunct real estate investment firm RealtyShares willingly dismissed a suit against the firm's former directors, litigation that had outlived the firm's Chapter 7 by more than a year.
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February 07, 2025
Syracuse Diocese Wants Rep For Unknown Abuse Claimants
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse asked a New York bankruptcy judge to appoint a representative for currently unknown sexual abuse claimants and to extend the deadline for the representative to vote on the diocese's Chapter 11 plan until the end of March.
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February 07, 2025
NAFTA Case Useful In Bid To DQ Quinn Emanuel, Judge Says
A Florida federal judge has ruled that a Mexican oil company can use information on dismissed NAFTA arbitration and other documents in a bid to disqualify former counsel Quinn Emanuel, saying the evidence is relevant to underlying litigation over alleged funds transfers.
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February 07, 2025
4th Circ. Says LeClairRyan Founder May Duck Tax Liability
Defunct law firm LeClairRyan PLLC's operating agreement did not bar founder Gary LeClair from jumping ship in time to potentially dodge massive tax bills tied to the firm's collapse, the Fourth Circuit ruled Friday.
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February 07, 2025
Aztec Fund To Sell 3 Office Buildings To Settle Ch. 11 Dispute
Private equity investment group Aztec Fund told a Texas bankruptcy judge Friday it will sell three office buildings and aim to liquidate through Chapter 11 to resolve a dispute over the insolvency case with Bank of America.
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February 06, 2025
Earthlink Investors' Attys Score $28M In Merger Suit
The attorneys who helped Earthlink investors score an $85 million settlement with the company after they said they were tricked into approving a $1.1 billion merger with a failing telecommunications company will be walking away with almost $28 million for their trouble.
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February 06, 2025
First Mode Gets OK For Ch. 11 Plan Ballot, $15M Sale
Bankrupt electric-engine developer First Mode Holdings Inc. can seek votes for its Chapter 11 plan after a Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday overruled an objection from its unsecured creditors over the ballot's third-party releases.
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February 06, 2025
Old Eletson Seeks Pause In Ch. 11 Plan Enforcement
Former shareholders and executives of Greek shipping group Eletson Holdings Inc. asked a New York bankruptcy judge for more time to comply with last month's order directing them to assist in updating the reorganized company's address of record with the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry.
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February 06, 2025
Girardi's Mental Evaluation At NC Prison Extended By 15 Days
A California federal judge Thursday ordered Tom Girardi's psychiatric evaluation at a North Carolina federal prison to be extended by 15 days, and she also lectured Girardi's public defender while saying she "could not have imagined" why it took 17 days to get his client's medical records sent to the facility.
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February 06, 2025
NJ Flooring Co. Owner Can't Shake Biz Sales Tax Liabilities
A shuttered flooring company's sole shareholder is responsible for the company's sales and use tax liabilities that were outstanding after bankruptcy, a New Jersey state appeals court ruled, holding that the statute of limitations for issuing assessments didn't block the state from pursuing the taxes.
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February 06, 2025
Russia Sanctions, COVID Landed Plastic Suppliers In Ch. 11
Ohio-based compostable film producer Plastic Suppliers Inc., which has filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey, says it was driven to bankruptcy by a confluence of factors, including a severe blow to its revenues delivered in part by U.S. sanctions on Russia.
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February 05, 2025
'Pay-To-Pay' Fees Are Unfair Debt Practice, 11th Circ. Rules
The Eleventh Circuit said a mortgage servicing company illegally charged borrowers fees for online and phone payments, upholding a Florida federal court's decision that it improperly collected so-called pay-to-pay convenience fees that were not expressly allowed by underlying loan agreements.
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February 05, 2025
US Trustee Blasts Releases In First Mode Ch. 11 Disclosures
The Office of the U.S. Trustee asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to reject the Chapter 11 plan disclosure from bankrupt electric-engine developer First Mode Holdings Inc., arguing that it provides too little information on the third-party releases, uses a confusing ballot, and imposes involuntary third-party releases.
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February 05, 2025
Wave Of Defaults Looms For Fed's Main Street Loans
Some businesses that took out big loans backed by American taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic have gone bankrupt, and the stage is set for a wall of similar debt to start crashing later this year when large payments come due.
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February 05, 2025
Judge Nixes Jones' Ch. 7 Deal With Sandy Hook Families
A deal proposed by the Chapter 7 trustee in the bankruptcy case of right-wing conspiracy peddler Alex Jones that would have resolved the nearly $1.5 billion in claims held by the families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims failed to gain court approval Wednesday when a Texas judge said he couldn't grant the requested relief.
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February 05, 2025
Meet The Attys Helping Liberated Brands Through Ch. 11
Outdoor apparel retailer Liberated Brands LLC has assembled a team of attorneys from Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP to guide the company through a Chapter 11 case aimed at winding down and selling parts of its business.
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February 05, 2025
Girardi Keese Trustee Sues NY Atty Who Funded Girardi
The bankruptcy trustee for disgraced California attorney Tom Girardi's defunct law firm is suing to prevent New York attorney Joseph DiNardo from discharging $7.5 million in his own bankruptcy, claiming DiNardo received the money by helping Girardi defraud his own clients.
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February 05, 2025
Lowenstein Sandler Aims To Combine Dueling Dispensary Suits
Lowenstein Sandler LLP has moved in New Jersey state court to consolidate its $800,000 legal fee case against a cannabis dispensary with a malpractice suit that the dispensary recently filed against it and handle the cases in Essex County.
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February 04, 2025
Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action
A company that sells Volcom, RVCA and Billabong-branded clothes is seeking Chapter 11 protection after losing its key brand licensing agreements. Meanwhile, the owner of one of the world's largest cobalt processing plants entered bankruptcy with hopes of restructuring under a lender-backed plan.
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February 04, 2025
Liberated Brands Gets OK To Tap $25M In Ch. 11 Financing
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday agreed to give interim approval for outdoors and athletic clothing retailer Liberated Brands LLC to access $25 million of its $35 million debtor-in-possession financing.
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February 04, 2025
Discount Retail Chain Bargain Hunt Hits Ch. 11
Discount retailer Bargain Hunt Stores, which operates almost 100 outlets, has entered bankruptcy in Tennessee with plans to shut its doors through Chapter 11.
Expert Analysis
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Pa. Ruling Shows Why Term Sheet Can Be Worth The Wait
A Pennsylvania bankruptcy court’s recent In re: Legarde ruling, holding that a settlement term sheet was enforceable, reminds litigants that it’s crucial to draft a written agreement before leaving mediation in order to resolve potential evidentiary issues and protect against buyer’s remorse, says Brian Shaw at Cozen O'Connor.
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Understanding Discovery Obligations In Era Of Generative AI
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Attorneys and businesses must adapt to the unique discovery challenges presented by generative artificial intelligence, such as chatbot content and prompts, while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency and compliance with legal obligations in federal civil litigation, say attorneys at King & Spalding.
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Asserting 'Presence-Of-Counsel' Defense In Securities Trials
As illustrated by the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, defense attorneys in securities trials might consider arguing that counsel had some involvement in the conduct at issue — if the more formal advice-of-counsel defense is unavailable and circumstances allow for a privilege waiver, say Joseph Dever and Matthew Elkin at Cozen O'Connor.
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Crypto Has Democratized Trading In Bankruptcy Claims
Following the pandemic, there has been a wave of cryptocurrency bankruptcies and a related increase in access to information, allowing nontraditional bankruptcy investors to purchase claims and democratizing a once closed segment of alternative investing, says Joseph Sarachek at Strategic Liquidity.
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The Case For Post-Bar Clerk Training Programs At Law Firms
In today's competitive legal hiring market, an intentionally designed training program for law school graduates awaiting bar admission can be an effective way of creating a pipeline of qualified candidates, says Brent Daub at Gilson Daub.
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5 Key Tips For Attorneys In The Subchapter V Arena
Subchapter V cases present unique challenges for the nondebtor parties-in-interest, and habits developed by attorneys in typical Chapter 11 cases do not necessarily translate, meaning creditors and their counsel should quickly take a proactive role in their cases to protect their interests, which can be done by attending the 341 meeting, analyzing the plan, and more, says Kelly Singer at Squire Patton.
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Attorneys Have An Ethical Duty To Protect The Judiciary
The tenor of public disagreement and debate has become increasingly hostile against judges, and though the legislative branch is trying to ameliorate this safety gap, lawyers have a moral imperative and professional requirement to stand with judges in defusing attacks against them and their rulings, says Deborah Winokur at Cozen O'Connor.
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Why The Debt Maturity Wall Is Still A Figment, For Now
While the phenomenon of the debt maturity wall — a growing wall of staggered corporate debt maturities — has been considered a looming problem since the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, it’s unlikely to have significant consequences before 2025 due to factors such as quantitative easing and evolved lending practices, says Michael Eisenband at FTI Consulting.
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AI Can Help Lawyers Overcome The Programming Barrier
Legal professionals without programming expertise can use generative artificial intelligence to harness the power of automation and other technology solutions to streamline their work, without the steep learning curve traditionally associated with coding, says George Zalepa at Greenberg Traurig.
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10 Essential Bankruptcy Litigation Tips For In-House Counsel
Bankruptcy litigation is a complex and multifaceted area of law that poses unique challenges for in-house counsel, and there are several tools at legal professionals' disposal, like appraisals and understanding jurisdictions, to stay well-informed and protect their companies' interests, says Alison Ashmore at Dykema.
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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.