Former supermodel Janice Dickinson files for bankruptcy

Janice Dickinson has filed for bankruptcy, the self-proclaimed world's first supermodel confirms. "I had some trouble, so yes, it is true," Dickinson confirmed to Radar Online on Monday. "I am upset and taking every step to pay everyone back and I feel terrible about it."

Blockbuster UK Goes Into Bankruptcy

The entertainment retailer Blockbuster UK on Wednesday went into administration, a form of bankruptcy, and appointed Deloitte to seek a buyer for all or parts of the business. The move came a day after a rival, HMV, announced that it had entered administration. Deloitte, which took control of HMV on Tuesday, said Wednesday that Blockbuster’s 528 stores would continue to operate as usual while it sought a buyer. Blockbuster UK, which has 4,190 employees, is part of Blockbuster L.L.C., which Dish Network, a U.S. satellite television company, bought at a bankruptcy auction in 2010. Blockbuster has more than 2,500 stores in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Australia, according to the company’s Web site, but only the British stores are going into administration. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/business/global/blockbuster-uk-goes-into-bankruptcy.html?ref=bankruptcies&_r=0

Chinese Solar Panel Giant Is Tainted by Bankruptcy

HONG KONG — It was the Icarus of the solar power industry. And, on Wednesday, it fell to earth. The main subsidiary of Suntech Power, one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, collapsed into bankruptcy in a remarkable reversal for what had been part of a huge Chinese government effort to dominate renewable energy industries. The bankruptcy is a sign of the worldwide consolidation of the solar industry, which has been crippled by a glut of products on world markets and Western tariffs on Chinese products. It also signals China’s unwillingness to continue to subsidize struggling manufacturers in the industry, which is contributing to the steep decline of its green energy pursuits. More than any other country, China had leaned heavily on renewable energy to solve its problems of severe air pollution and dependence on energy imports from politically unstable countries in the Middle East and Africa. Suntech, a centerpiece of the country’s efforts, had grown to 10,000 employees in its hometown, Wuxi, on China’s east coast, and even set up a small factory in Arizona to assemble panels. But a tenfold expansion of Chinese solar panel manufacturing capacity from 2008 to 2012 pushed down the price of solar panels about 75 percent, undermining the economics of the business. read more at:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/business/energy-environment/chinese-solar-companys-operating-unit-declares-bankruptcy.html?ref=bankruptcies

Suntech Unit Declares Bankruptcy

HONG KONG — Suntech Power, a Chinese manufacturer that became the world’s largest producer of solar panels by 2011 only to be battered by plummeting prices, announced on Wednesday evening that its main operating subsidiary had been pushed into bankruptcy by eight Chinese banks. Suntech was the Icarus of the solar panel industry, with production that soared year after year on heavy investment, as Western investors bought up its New York-traded shares and its international debt issues. Part of a massive Chinese government effort to dominate renewable energy industries, Suntech grew to 10,000 employees in its hometown of Wuxi and even set up a small factory in Arizona to do further assembly of panels there. But a 10-fold expansion of overall Chinese solar panel manufacturing capacity from 2008 to 2012 produced a three-quarters drop in solar panel prices, undermining the economics of the business. Rapid expansion of natural gas production in the United States and a curtailment of subsidies in the European Union also hurt solar panel prices, as did an American imposition last year of import tariffs totaling about 40 percent after an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/business/energy-environment/suntech-declares-bankruptcy-china-says.html?ref=bankruptcies

Ruling Sets Up Pension Battle in Bankrupt City

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled on Monday that the city of Stockton, Calif., was eligible for court protection from its creditors, clearing the way for a battle over whether public workers’ pensions can be cut when the city they work for goes bankrupt. Enlarge This Image Kevin Bartram/Reuters Stockton, Calif., has cut tens of millions of dollars in city services. After declaring Chapter 9 bankruptcy last year, Stockton eliminated tens of millions of dollars in city services and said it would cut some bond payments in a way unseen before in municipal bankruptcy. But bondholders objected to Stockton’s effort to protect pensions while forcing losses on investors. Many states have statutes and constitutional provisions making it illegal to cut public workers’ pensions. Until now, there has not been a prominent test of those laws in bankruptcy — particularly not in California, where the big state pension system, known as Calpers, has been girding for battle on the issue, trying to avoid the precedent of a cutoff or shortfall in a city’s pension contributions. Federal bankruptcy law often trumps state laws, but municipal bankruptcies are so rare that there is almost no precedent on how to apply the law to state pension provisions. In the ruling, issued on Monday in Sacramento, which affirmed the legal status of Stockton’s bankruptcy, Judge Christopher M. Klein said he could see battle lines being drawn between Calpers — formally the California Public Employees’ Retirement System — and the city’s other major creditors, including several Wall Street companies that either bought Stockton’s bonds or insured them. But he ruled that it was still too early in the case for that battle to be joined. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/business/ruling-sets-stage-for-pension-battle-in-bankrupt-city.html?ref=bankruptcies

Public Pensions in Bankruptcy Court

Devastated by the recession, the city of Stockton, Calif., is trying to renegotiate its debts in a bankruptcy case that could set an important precedent on whether courts can forcibly reduce the pensions of government employees. Today's Editorials Editorial: Courage in Kansas (April 14, 2013) Editorial: When Election Regulators Are Mocked (April 14, 2013) Editorial | Notebook: Gifting and Politicking (April 14, 2013) Editorial | Notebook: Helping Teachers Learn (April 14, 2013) Like many cities hit hard by the bursting of the housing bubble, Stockton found its finances in a mess. Even after drastic cuts to city services that have sent the crime rate soaring, the city of 300,000 people about 80 miles east of San Francisco has an annual budget deficit of $26 million. It has laid off a quarter of its police force, which has meant that officers often respond only to crimes in progress. The city’s crisis is not unique. San Bernardino in Southern California has also sought bankruptcy protection, and numerous other municipalities in the state and elsewhere are on a financial precipice. To fix its finances, Stockton is asking the bankruptcy court to restructure debts totaling about $250 million. But the city’s creditors, which include bondholders and insurance companies that have guaranteed some of its bonds, say the plans are unfair. They want the city to reduce the $30 million it spends annually on pension benefits for its 2,400 retirees. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/opinion/sunday/public-pensions-in-bankruptcy-court.html?ref=bankruptcies&_r=0

AMR Submits Formal Plan to Exit Bankruptcy

AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, filed its formal plans to exit bankruptcy late Monday, bringing its proposed $11 billion merger with the US Airways Group closer to reality. Add to Portfolio US Airways Group Inc Go to your Portfolio » The reorganization plan, which details some executive compensation and outlines measures for creditors and shareholders, is a necessary step before the two companies can come together to create the world’s largest airline. The plan requires both court and creditor approval. Under the plan, AMR’s departing chief executive, Thomas W. Horton, would receive a $19.9 million severance package. Earlier this month in Federal Bankruptcy Court, Judge Sean H. Lane declined to approve the severance proposal, ruling that it was not permitted under federal bankruptcy law. But the judge suggested that the severance proposal be included in AMR’s reorganization plan, making it subject to creditor approval. Secured creditors would be paid in full, while unsecured creditors would receive shares of preferred stock. As expected, AMR shareholders would receive a 3.5 percent equity stake in the combined company. As such, this would be one of the few major bankruptcies in which shareholders recovered some equity. A lawyer for AMR’s creditors committee has said the stake could be valued at $350 million to $400 million. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/business/amr-submits-formal-plan-to-exit-bankruptcy.html?ref=bankruptcies

odak Spinoffs Clear Path For Exit From Bankruptcy

Kodak said on Monday that it would spin off its document and personal imaging units to its British pension plan for $650 million in cash and noncash considerations, a move that paves the way for Kodak’s exit from bankruptcy protection. Kodak had been seeking to sell off the two imaging operations. Two weeks ago, Eastman Kodak announced a plan to sell its document imaging business to Brother of Japan for $210 million, with the provision that it could revisit the deal if it could sell both units together. Now the bankrupt film pioneer has struck an even more advantageous deal after a protracted sales process. More important, the pension plan will settle its bankruptcy claim of $2.8 billion, paving the way for the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States. On Tuesday, Kodak plans to file a draft plan to emerge from bankruptcy. read more at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D71130F933A05757C0A9659D8B63&ref=bankruptcies

Electric Car Maker Files for Bankruptcy Protection

LOS ANGELES — A green car start-up, Coda Holdings, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday after selling just 100 of its all-electric sedans. Enlarge This Image Coda Automotive The Coda E.V. has a range of almost 90 miles on a charge. The filing with the federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware will allow the Los Angeles company to get out of the auto sector and refocus on energy storage, a far less capital-intensive business. The company uses the same technology it used in cars to build systems for utilities and building operators to store power. A group of lenders led by Fortress Investment Group plans to extend debtor-in-possession financing and will seek to acquire the company for $25 million through the bankruptcy process, Coda said in a statement. read more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/business/global/02iht-coda02.html?ref=bankruptcies

Washington: Cancer Patients More Prone to Bankruptcy

A study of cancer patients in Washington State has found they were twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as people without cancer. The study, led by researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, linked bankruptcy court records and information from the regional cancer registry on about 200,000 cancer patients, and compared them with a similar group of people from the same area who did not have cancer. Young people with cancer experienced the highest bankruptcy rates, the study found, up to 10 times the rate of bankruptcy filings among older age groups.

Golf USA seeks bankruptcy protection

Oklahoma City-based sports equipment franchiser Golf USA Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the eve of a court hearing to place the company into receivership. Founded in Oklahoma City in 1986, Golf USA has franchisees across North America, Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, with more than 100 retail stores in 18 countries, according to its website. As recently as 2007, the company had touted itself as the world's largest golf equipment franchiser. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, one day ahead of a court hearing to place the company into receivership. Golf USA has less than $50,000 in assets and between $500,000 and $1 million in debts, according to the bankruptcy filing. Read the rest at http://newsok.com/golf-usa-seeks-bankruptcy-protection/article/3815275

Investor Aiming for the Top, Again

On Wall Street, the wheel of fortune can spin around and around, from enormous cash bonuses and luxurious perks one year to the unemployment line the next. Then there is Fred Eckert, a onetime Goldman Sachs partner who soared as a star in "vulture" investing in ailing companies. But in the turmoil of the financial crisis, his business and wealth came crashing down. By 2011, he was bankrupt, divorced and, for two months, in a coma. Today, he is in better shape, earning $1 million a year from a consulting job, although that expires next year. But most of his income is dedicated to paying leftover debts — he says he is running at "break-even at best" after expenses. It is a far cry from the luxury he enjoyed just a few years ago: an 11-bedroom mansion over 28 acres in the horse country of Bernardsville, N.J., 18 vintage automobiles and a 1,500-bottle wine collection. Now Mr. Eckert, 65, is planning to return to the arena. He says he has shed 25 pounds from his peak of 220 and has given up drinking. His cashmere overcoat may be rumpled, but his confidence is high. Mr. Eckert is trying to start a new money management business by raising up to $100 million. The new company's name — Phoenix Star Capital. While even longtime friends say a comeback will be difficult, Mr. Eckert perseveres. He went to the SALT (for SkyBridge Alternatives) hedge fund conference in Las Vegas last week to try to drum up interest in his new venture. Read the rest at http://www.cnbc.com/id/100745326

Game Over for TimeGate

A Texas bankruptcy has pulled the plug on TimeGate Studios Inc.’s short-lived restructuring bid, and the videogame developer has shut its doors and will liquidate its remaining assets. Judge Jeff Bohm of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston converted the bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 case from a Chapter 11 after a videogame publisher complained the bankruptcy was a “ruse” designed to let TimeGate insiders off the hook for a $10 million fraud judgment. Gaming website Kotaku reported that TimeGate, the developer behind “Section 8” and “Aliens: Colonial Marines,” has shut its doors and laid off its staff. A receptionist at TimeGate, reached by phone, said she couldn’t comment on the case. The videogame developer, which listed assets of less than $10 million and debt of less than $50 million in its May 1 bankruptcy filing, employed 33 people at its Sugar Land, Texas, headquarters as of last month. The company had sought to stay alive long enough to find a buyer in order to successfully launch its latest shooter game, “Minimum.” That game, TimeGate said, was projected to generate sales of $30 million to $75 million in the next 3 1/2 years. Read the rest at http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/05/16/game-over-for-timegate/

Hearts Majority Owner UBIG Is Insolvent, Bankruptcy Body Says

Ukio Banko Investicine Grupe, or UBIG, the Lithuanian investment company that controls Scottish soccer club Heart of Midlothian, is insolvent, said the Baltic nation’s Department of Enterprise Bankruptcy Management today on its website. The department, part of the Economy Ministry, said that Kaunas-based UBIG, at its own request, had been placed on a list of companies unable or unwilling to meet their obligations. UBIG is a sister company of Ukio Bankas AB, a lender that Lithuania’s central bank closed in February for risky lending to related parties. Russian-born investor Vladimir Romanov controlled both companies. Read the rest at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/hearts-majority-owner-ubig-is-insolvent-bankruptcy-body-says.html

Aurelius Scores Windfall Under Tousa Bankruptcy Plan

Florida homebuilder Tousa Inc ., which collapsed five years ago when the housing bubble popped, is seeking approval of a Chapter 11 plan that proposes to pay bondholders hundreds of millions of dollars, a big win for the investors that bought up the company's debt at a deep discount then battled lenders for a payout. Read the rest at http://pevc.dowjones.com/Article?an=DJFLBO0020130517e95how2hp&cid=32135028&ctype=ts&ReturnUrl=http%3a%2f%2fpevc.dowjones.com%3a80%2fArticle%3fan%3dDJFLBO0020130517e95how2hp%26cid%3d32135028%26ctype%3dts

Arcapita Bankruptcy Filing Highlights Wider Transparency Issue

Corporate collapses and debt restructurings have been common in the Persian Gulf since the financial crisis. But the U.S. bankruptcy filing by the Bahrain-based investment firm Arcapita has presented an unusual sight for the region – a debt-laden company which is planning to sell all its assets to repay creditors and wind up its operations. While nothing new in the developed world, bankruptcy proceedings overseen by courts and done transparently are virtually unknown in Arcapita’s native Bahrain or in the rest of the oil-rich Gulf, where failure carries a social stigma and debt-laden, financially broken companies are often allowed to straggle along instead of publicly going out of business. Even when Gulf companies do want to wind themselves up, lawyers say local systems are rarely used because they’re unpredictable. “There have been hardly ever any companies that have gone bust, and that’s simply because one thing you want when you put a company into bankruptcy is certainty about the outcome,” said Adrian Low, a banking and finance lawyer at Clyde & Co. in Dubai, speaking about the situation in the Middle East in general. Arcapita’s winding-up is taking place in plain view because it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, which it was able to do because it made substantial investments in the U.S. The case, filed last March, is expected to conclude this summer. The absence of a properly-functioning bankruptcy regime back in the Gulf has hindered the region’s economic recovery, lawyers and consultants say. As well as keeping unhealthy companies alive for too long, slowing the rebound from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, it has stifled access to credit and stunted the development of financial markets. “The financial markets need bankruptcy laws to be flexible to allow for the redeployment of capital,” said Nasser Saidi, an economist and former Lebanese central banker who runs a Dubai-based advisory firm, and has been a vocal advocate of bankruptcy reform in the region. “That’s a main function of capital markets, but you see they are not functioning well in the Middle East.” Read the rest at http://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2013/05/16/arcapita-bankruptcy-filing-highlights-wider-transparency-issue/

Hong Kong April bankruptcy petitions rise 2.6 pct from March

HONG KONG, May 16 (Reuters) - Following are monthly bankruptcy statistics provided by the government: Pct Change Pct Change No. of April M/M Y/Y Jan-Apr Y/Y Bankruptcy petitions 815 2.64 21.10 3,010 10.50 Bankruptcy orders 927 35.92 20.39 3,126 18.63 Read the rest at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/16/hongkong-economy-bankruptcy-idUSL3N0D66XP20130516

Valitar horses focus of bankruptcy case

SAN DIEGO — Where are they now? That’s the question that a bankruptcy court in San Diego is trying to answer about dozens of horses that were once part of Valitar, the human-equine acrobatics show that flamed out last year after just a handful of performances at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. When Valitar closed in late November, dozens of performers, employees and vendors were left unpaid. Equustria Development, the company founded by Rancho Santa Fe resident Mark Remley to produce the show, declared bankruptcy Dec. 14. Many of the company’s assets — including the massive tents that housed the show — have since been sold. Meanwhile, the animals that were the centerpiece of the show have taken center stage in the bankruptcy proceedings. Marketing material touting Valitar said the production had a cast of 54 horses. Not quite half of those animals belonged to performers who appeared in the show, and the rest belonged to Equustria or to Mark Remley and his wife, Tatyana. Several of those horses, worth thousands of dollars each, are missing and still more are caught in a legal tug of war between Remley and his creditors — many of them cast and crew members. On Wednesday, attorneys for both sides met in a creditors’ meeting in San Diego to discuss the whereabouts of the horses and who actually owns them. Horses owned by the production company can be sold to reimburse creditors, but horses owned by Remley would remain his personal property. Read the rest at http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/may/16/valitar-horses-bankruptcy/

Yankee Parking Bondholders Seek to Stave Off Bankruptcy Filing

Holders of almost $240 million of municipal debt issued to finance parking garages at the new Yankee Stadium and the operator of the facility agreed to prevent an immediate bankruptcy filing. Owners of a majority of the debt said they wouldn’t sue Bronx Parking Development Corp. to enforce their claims on revenue or seek an acceleration of payments, according to a securities filing today. The garages and lots, which have about 9,300 spaces, have suffered as more fans take public transportation to Major League Baseball games and drivers balk at paying $35 to park. The facilities averaged about 4,000 cars on event days and had an occupancy rate of 43 percent, according to filings. The New York Yankees have exclusive use of 600 spaces. Bronx Parking in March disclosed that it was hiring Willkie Farr & Gallagher as bankruptcy counsel. The bondholders and Bronx Parking agreed to terminate the so-called forbearance agreement on Aug. 1, according to the filing. It could end earlier if the operator fails to reach an accord with the Yankees by July 15 to better promote the garages to fans or if Bronx Parking files for bankruptcy, according to the filing. The marketing arrangement needs to be acceptable to bondholders. Nuveen Asset Management is the biggest holder of Bronx Parking debt, with a combined $116.1 million of bonds maturing in 2037 and 2046 as of Feb. 28, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Chicago-based company held $15 million in bonds maturing in 2017 and 2027 as of Jan. 31. Read the rest at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/yankee-parking-bondholders-seek-to-stave-off-bankruptcy-filing.html

Moody’s Says Detroit Manager Makes Bankruptcy Option

The financial-recovery plan by Detroit’s emergency manager may harm the city’s bondholders because it indicates he is considering an effort to avoid paying in full, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The plan released by Kevyn Orr on May 13 “indicates that the city requires ‘significant and fundamental debt relief’ to help shore up its finances, a clear indication that a default or bankruptcy is a real option,” according to Moody’s. Detroit would join Stockton and San Bernardino, both in California, and Jefferson County, Alabama, in trying to stick bondholders with a loss. Stockton is one of five municipal issuers rated by Moody’s Investors Service that defaulted in 2012. Orr’s report said he will use a “fair and equitable” standard to restructure payments. “This language has been used in relation to other bankruptcy proceedings to manage creditors’ expectations on recovering their assets in bankruptcy, setting the stage for reductions to all stakeholders, including bondholders,” said the Moody’s report released today. Unpleasant Record Orr, a 55-year-old Washington restructuring lawyer appointed by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, declined to comment on the Moody’s report. His spokesman, Bill Nowling, said Orr and his advisers “continue to work diligently to resolve the city’s financial challenges and create a viable financial future for all of Detroit’s constituents.” Orr has said he hopes to avoid bankruptcy by negotiating with creditors and reining in retirement costs. Michigan Treasurer Andy Dillon has said Detroit would be the largest U.S. municipality to declare bankruptcy. Detroit’s long-term obligations are at least $15.7 billion, including unfunded pension and retirement benefits. The general fund this fiscal year, with revenue of about $1.1 billion, will pay about $461 million for debt and health costs, according to the emergency manager’s report. Tax-exempt Detroit general obligations maturing in April 2015 traded today at an average price of 88 cents on the dollar, down from 94 cents earlier this week and 13 percent below their 2008 issue price, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The yield on the securities is 12.4 percent, compared with 0.35 percent on benchmark AAA munis due in two years. Moody’s gives Detroit’s general obligation and certificate of participation debt a Caa1 rating, seven levels below investment grade. Most of the city’s debt is tied to water and sewer revenue, not the general fund, the Moody’s report said, and there is a negative outlook on those obligations. Debt paid from general-fund accounts is just under $3 billion. Read the rest at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-16/detroit-recovery-plan-negative-for-bondholders-moody-s-says-1-.html

These California cities could be next in bankruptcy

Since a federal judge ruled in April that Stockton, Calif., can pursue bankruptcy protection, the question has been which of the state's fiscally troubled cities will be next. These 10 are facing the kind of serious financial stress that sent Stockton and several other cities toward bankruptcy. STORY: Calif. cities looking for economic recovery • Atwater. This farm city in the Central Valley declared a fiscal emergency in October with a $3 million deficit and appeared poised for a bankruptcy filing. City leaders say they pulled the city back from the brink after winning concessions from unions to cut costs. The deal cuts pay 5% for city workers, including police. Last month, voters approved a half-point sales tax increase to 8%. The city has cut jobs but struggled as costs on a new water treatment plant exceeded $85 million in bond financing. • Azusa. This city east of Los Angeles saw its credit rating downgraded in 2012 by Moody's and branded with a negative outlook by Standard & Poor's. Analysts cited low general fund reserves, which fell to $50,000, or 0.17% of expenses, last August. A 2011 audit found the city's general fund balance was almost entirely in restricted land assets. Read the rest at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/15/ten-california-cities-in-distress/2076217/

Calendar: Free consumer debt/bankruptcy workshop set

Free consumer debt/bankruptcy workshop set A free consumer debt/bankruptcy workshop is scheduled for 9 a.m., on Saturday, May 25, at the Law Office of Kenneth Egan at 1111 E. Lohman Ave. The workshop includes a presentation by Egan, an open question-and-answer period, and a one-on-one consultation with an attorney. This event is a community service open to the public. Call 1-800-876-6227 for details or 505-797-6068 to register. $8.5 million available to small businesses The New Mexico Economic Development Department along with the New Mexico Finance Authority will visit Las Cruces and Silver City as part of a statewide tour to present details of the Collateral Support Program. The program has made $13 million in financing available to New Mexico Small businesses and currently has $8.5 million remaining. The presentation will take place in Silver City from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., June 11, on the second floor of the Town Annex at 1203 N. Hudson. In Las Cruces, the presentation will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on June 12 at the Doña Ana County Commission Chambers, at 845 N. Motel Blvd. Registration open for Camp Innoventure Camp Innoventure, run by New Mexico State University's Arrowhead Center, shows middle school students what it's like to start their own business, taking them through the planning and development process and letting them sell their finished products in a real market setting. Read the rest at http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-business/ci_23269095/calendar-free-consumer-debt-bankruptcy-workshop-set

Calpers Seeks to Bar Firm From San Bernardino Bankruptcy

California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, is trying to ban a law firm from representing a creditor in the bankruptcy of the city of San Bernardino. CalPers, as it’s known, accused the law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP of being “deceptive” by hiring several key lawyers who had been working for the pension fund in the bankruptcies of the cities of San Bernardino and Stockton, California. Winston & Strawn represents creditor National Public Finance Guarantee Corp., which opposes Calpers in the two bankruptcies, the pension fund said in court papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside, California. The Winston & Strawn attorneys had been employed in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of K&L Gates, the law firm representing Calpers in the bankruptcies. National and other creditors have complained that Stockton city officials were trying to force them, but not Calpers, to take less than they are owed. The same disputes CalPers is engaged in over Stockton also will have to be resolved in the San Bernardino case, the pension fund said. “By hiring from K&L Gates’ Charlotte office, Winston has knowingly obtained lawyers who were at the heart of the K&L Gates litigation team representing Calpers, taking a partner who was a key lieutenant,” the pension fund said in the filing. Read the rest at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-17/calpers-seeks-to-bar-firm-from-san-bernardino-bankruptcy.html

Cancer diagnosis puts people at greater risk for bankruptcy

SEATTLE – May 15, 2013 – People diagnosed with cancer are more than two-and-a-half times more likely to declare bankruptcy than those without cancer, according to a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Researchers also found that younger cancer patients had two- to five-fold higher bankruptcy rates compared to older patients, and that overall bankruptcy filings increased as time passed following diagnosis. Dr. Scott Ramsey Photo by Susie Fitzhugh The study, led by corresponding author Scott Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D., an internist and health economist at Fred Hutch, was published online on May 15 as a Web First in the journal Health Affairs. The article will also appear in the journal’s June edition. Ramsey and colleagues, including a chief judge for a U.S. Bankruptcy Court, undertook the research because the relationship between receiving a cancer diagnosis and bankruptcy is less well understood than the much-studied link between high medical expenses and likelihood of bankruptcy filing. “This study found strong evidence of a link between cancer diagnosis and increased risk of bankruptcy,” the authors wrote. “Although the risk of bankruptcy for cancer patients is relatively low in absolute terms, bankruptcy represents an extreme manifestation of what is probably a larger picture of economic hardship for cancer patients. Our study thus raises important questions about the factors underlying the relationship between cancer and financial hardship.” Read the rest at http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/38752-cancer-diagnosis-puts-people-at-greater-risk-for-bankruptcy.html

The Daily Docket: Kodak Seeks Court Approval of U.K. Pension Deal

Eastman Kodak Co. is seeking court permission to enter into a deal with its U.K. pension plan, an “unprecedented” settlement that lies at the heart of its reorganization proposal. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review story here. A decades-old whistleblower lawsuit that prompted Congress to change the law intended to expose corporate fraud on the government is still haunting the remnants of the old General Motors—and is holding up the distribution of $50 million to the bankruptcy estate’s creditors. Read the DBR story in The Wall Street Journal. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services placed its ratings on Ally Financial Inc. on watch for a possible upgrade, after the government-controlled auto lender entered into a plan-support agreement with its troubled mortgage subsidiary Residential Capital and the unit’s influential creditors, WSJ reports. Read the rest at http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/05/17/the-daily-docket-kodak-seeks-court-approval-of-u-k-pension-deal/

The bottom line: Harrisburg City Council candidates on blight, bankruptcy, taxes, unions

They've debated, fundraised and canvassed city neighborhoods. And in just a few days, voters will decide the Democratic primary election for Harrisburg City Council. Ten are running. Four will win. Three candidates - Kelly Summerford, Eugenia Smith and Wanda Williams - are incumbents. Summerford and challengers Ben Allatt and Camille Erice are being supported by Harrisburg Capital PAC, which formed this spring and has injected more than $89,000 into the race. Apart from that, the combined fundraising efforts of the field already exceeded the total during the last primary when four council seats were at stake. The city's crippling financial and other problems and other issues seem to have inspired people to get involved in the election Tuesday - or at least pay close attention. We reached out to the candidates for their final thoughts and positions on of those issues. Wanda R. D. Williams Read the rest at http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/the_bottom_line_harrisburg_cit.html

Patriot paid Bryan Cave $98,000 so far for bankruptcy work

Bryan Cave LLP was paid $30,000 in April in legal fees from bankrupt Patriot Coal Corp., part of $98,000 the firm has received from the company since Patriot filed for bankruptcy in July, according to a regulatory filing today by the coal company. St. Louis-based Bryan Cave, the area’s second-largest law firm ranked by its 253 local licensed attorneys, is Patriot’s restructuring and corporate counsel. Bryan Cave reported 2012 revenue of $624 million, up 11.9 percent from 2011. Patriot paid its Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) counsel Carmody MacDonald PC $30,000 in April, part of $80,000 it has paid the firm since July. Read the rest at http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2013/05/17/patriot-paid-bryan-cave-98000-so-far.html

The Broke and the Beautiful: Greek Soccer Edition

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Greek soccer club AEK Athens is readying for bankruptcy. Also, Lou Pearlman’s bankruptcy case is coming to a close, and Kerry Katona is back on TV. AEK Athens likely has a new goooooal in mind: to make it through bankruptcy. According to the Associated Press, Greece’s third-largest soccer club is going to launch a liquidation and seek relegation to the third division. The Scotsman noted that the team reportedly owes 170 million euros ($290 million) in taxes. AEK Athens, which gained some notoriety earlier this year when a player made a Nazi salute after making a goal, has been hit by financial ills because of the country’s debt crisis. We’re sure boy-band mogul Lou Pearlman wants to see bankruptcy go out that door, and he might not be that far from it. As Bankruptcy Beat reported, the trustee in Pearlman’s bankruptcy case said he’s close to figuring out a creditor-payment plan. “The trustee and committee each believe that they have made good progress towards a global resolutions of issues,” trustee Soneet Kapila noted in court papers. Read the rest at http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/05/17/the-broke-and-the-beautiful-greek-soccer-edition/

Oreck Family Offers $22M for Vacuum Company

The Oreck family is rallying to take back their namesake vacuum-cleaner company from private equity owners in a deal valued at $22 million—a price that founder David Oreck hints is cheaper than what he sold the business for a decade ago. Oreck, 89, has never stately publicly how much he profited from the 2003 sale of his company. But while his three sons lead the charge to buy the company’s 96 retail stores and 250-worker manufacturing plant in Tennessee out of bankruptcy, Oreck pointed out that the value of the business has certainly fallen in recent years. “It obvious that it’s worth less today,” he said. “When I sold the company, it was prosperous, [its profit] was growing and it had virtually no debt, so it was a very healthy company.” Asked whether his family would be buying it back at a discount, he replied: “It’s not too hard to put that together.” Oreck Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 6, saying that the business has struggled against competitors and that sales have declined since 2010. The company has changed hands since the Oreck family sold it in 2003, and it’s now controlled by Black Diamond Commercial Finance LLC. Read the rest at http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/05/17/oreck-family-offers-22m-for-vacuum-company/

Washington: Cancer Patients More Prone to Bankruptcy

A study of cancer patients in Washington State has found they were twice as likely to file for bankruptcy as people without cancer. The study, led by researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, linked bankruptcy court records and information from the regional cancer registry on about 200,000 cancer patients, and compared them with a similar group of people from the same area who did not have cancer. Read the rest of the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/us/washington-cancer-patients-more-prone-to-bankruptcy.html?_r=0

California City's Bankruptcy Poses Risk to Pensions

A federal judge allowed Stockton, Calif., to restructure its finances under bankruptcy protection Monday, but he signaled it might have to cut payments to its pension fund, possibly setting a precedent for other cities. Stockton, a port and agriculture center of 300,000 residents 80 miles east of San Francisco, filed in June 2012 for Chapter 9 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which allows municipalities to seek protection from creditors by establishing a plan to resolve their debt. It is the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy. Judge Christopher Klein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Sacramento on Monday declined a request by the city's creditors that he dismiss the bankruptcy case, saying the city "will not be able to perform its obligations to its citizens relating to such fundamental matters as public safety, as well as other basic governmental services," without bankruptcy powers.read more at:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324020504578396801452133528.html

Janice Dickinson Declares Bankruptcy With Debts To Dermatologist, Anti-Aging Expert Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/632012/janice-dickinson-declares-bankruptcy-with-debts-to-dermatologist-anti-aging-expert/#PcWWMdZf6eTSkF01.99

Janice Dickinson has reportedly filed for bankruptcy, claiming she is heavily in debt and coming up with a plan to pay back those she owes. One of those debts is reportedly an $8,000 sum Dickinson owes to her dermatologist, which The Huffington Post presumes is for one of the many cosmetic procedures she’s undergone. She also owes thousands of dollars to Dr. Uzzi Reiss, an anti-aging specialist. “I had some trouble, so yes, it is true,” Dickinson said, via Radar Online. “I am upset and taking every step to pay everyone back and I feel terrible about it.” As Janice Dickinson declared bankruptcy, she also revealed that she has unpaid taxes dating back a decade. In total Dickinson owes more than $500,000 to the states of New York and California and to the IRS. After dubbing herself the “world’s first supermodel” in the 1970s and 80s, Dickinson has revived her career in Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/632012/janice-dickinson-declares-bankruptcy-with-debts-to-dermatologist-anti-aging-expert/#PcWWMdZf6eTSkF01.99

Bankruptcy Laws Receive Inflation Adjustments

he United States Bankruptcy Code has many rules that involve specific dollar amounts, such as the value of exempted assets or the limits on eligibility for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Every three years, on the 1st of April, those numbers are adjusted for inflation according to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers and rounded to the nearest $25. “It is important that these figures be adjusted periodically for inflation,” commented Brandon bankruptcy attorney O. Reginald Osenton. “The numbers determine all sorts of allowances, exemptions, and limitations. The adjustments make it a little easier to get a fresh start through bankruptcy.” New figures for 2013 were recently released by The Judicial Conference of the United States. These figures apply to all bankruptcy cases filed after March 31, 2013. “Some of these new numbers apply to bankruptcy cases in Florida, and some do not,” added Mr. Osenton. “Florida has its own limitations on exemptions, for example. Those figures match up with federal numbers in some cases, but not in others.” Individuals filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy are now permitted to have unsecured debts of up to $383,175 and secured debts of up to $1,149,525. This represents an increase of over $22,000 and $58,000 respectively. The maximum allowable exemption for an individual retirement account (IRA) increased from $1,171,650 to $1,245,475. Floridians enjoy one of the most generous homestead exemptions in the country. The allowable exemption is unlimited as long as an individual owned the property for a minimum of 1,215 days before filing. The federal homestead cap, applicable in Florida cases where the residency minimum is not met, increased from $146,450 to $155,675. read more at: http://www.lawfirmnewswire.com/2013/04/bankruptcy-laws-receive-inflation-adjustments/

Bankruptcy filings in Minneapolis and St. Paul

This is a list of recent business-related bankruptcies filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The number after the filing date is the case number. A Chapter 7 petition is for liquidation of the business; Chapter 11 (or Chapter 12 for farmers or Chapter 13 for small businesses) gives protection from creditors while the business is reorganized. MINNEAPOLIS The Antioch Co., doing business as Creative Memories, Antioch Agenda, Antioch Publishing, Cottage Arts, Frame of Mind and Webway, St. Cloud, Minn.; filed April 16, 13-41898; Chap. 11; no schedules filed. Chris Veit, CEO. Antioch International, St. Cloud, filed April 16, 13-41899; Chap. 11; no schedules filed. Chris Veit, CEO. read more at: http://www.startribune.com/business/203843621.html?refer=y

Court dismisses bankruptcy case of former Grafton, N.D., farmer

FARGO — The personal Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization for former Grafton, N.D., farmer Tom Grabanski and his wife, Mari, has been dismissed, perhaps setting the stage for creditors to move ahead to collect claims that total about $25 million. Thad J. Collins, a U.S. bankruptcy judge, on April 12 dismissed the case “with prejudice,” prohibiting the Grabanskis from filing for bankruptcy for another six months. It is one of three separate but related bankruptcies involving Grabanski, a key figure in failed farming businesses in his hometown of Grafton and in Texas and Colorado. The personal bankruptcy case has accounted for more than 576 docket items, or filings. read more at: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/261895/group/homepage/

Hawaii Nui Brewing creditors ask judge to convert bankruptcy to Ch. 7

Three of Hawaii Nui Brewing LLC's creditors, including the Hilo-based beer company's landlord and a form that sold Mehana Brewing Co. to Hawaii Nui, have asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to convert the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports Mehana Investments Inc., Hilo Soda Works Inc. and Dustin Shindo asked in a motion filed Friday for the judge to remove Hawaii Nui's managers and sell the company's assets to pay off creditors. read more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/blog/morning_call/2013/04/hawaii-nui-brewing-creditors-ask-judge.html

Fisker misses $10M payment, is bankruptcy imminent?

Fisker Automotive is in serious financial trouble. In early April, the automaker laid off 150 of its 200 employees and rumors began to swirl that Fisker was preparing to file for bankruptcy. Now that Fisker has officially missed a $10 million payment to the Department of Energy (DOE), many are wondering if the filing is imminent. Although Fisker missed the DOE payment, the government is going to receive at least a portion of the nearly $200 million that Fisker borrowed. According to DOE spokeswoman Aoife McCarthy, “The department recouped the company's approximately $21 million reserve account — funds that came from the company's sales and investors, not our loan — and will apply those funds to the loan.” Source: Reuters read more at:http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/fisker-misses-10m-payment-is-bankruptcy-imminent

Janice Dickinson declares bankruptcy, 'taking every step to pay everyone back'

Janice Dickinson, the self-proclaimed "world's first supermodel," is in some financial trouble, it seems. The New York Post broke the story that Dickinson has declared bankruptcy. Court papers obtained by the publication reportedly show that she has nearly $1 million in debt, ranging from owning the IRS to a plastic surgeon. Reportedly, Dickinson owes both a Beverly Hills dermatologist and a Beverly Hills anti-aging center doctor over $8,000 apiece. She also has unpaid taxes going back over 10 years, totaling over half a million that is reportedly owed to New York, California and the IRS. read more at: http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2013/04/janice-dickinson-declares-bankruptcy-taking-every-step-to-pay-everyone-back.html

Yarway Corp., Industrial Valve Maker, Files Bankruptcy

Yarway Corp., a Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) unit that makes industrial valves, sought bankruptcy court protection in the face of asbestos liability claims. The company, with offices in Boca Raton, Florida, listed more than $100 million each in assets and debts in papers filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The bankruptcy “was precipitated by the continuing assertion of claims by personal injury plaintiffs” from alleged exposure to asbestos in gaskets and packing from the 1920s to the 1970s, said Yarway Vice President Kevin Coen in court papers. The company was founded in 1908 by Robert Yarnall and Bernard Waring as Simplex Engineering Co., was sold to Keystone International Inc. in 1986, and in 1997 was bought by Tyco, according to Coen’s account. read more at:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/yarway-corp-industrial-valve-maker-files-bankruptcy.html

APNewsBreak: Developer Kahn files for bankruptcy

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The president of a major development firm in South Carolina has filed for bankruptcy protection, according to documents obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. Alan Bruce Kahn filed for Chapter 11 protection on Monday, according to court papers. Bankruptcy papers note that Kahn has fewer than 50 creditors and liability valued between $50 million and $100 million. His assets are estimated between $1 million and $10 million, according to court papers. Since 1968, the Columbia businessman has served as president of the Kahn Development Company, according to the firm's website. He is also chairman of M.B. Kahn Construction Co., Inc., which says online it is the 106th largest U.S. building firm that specializes in industrial, commercial and institutional construction. Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/04/23/2738469/apnewsbreak-developer-kahn-files.html#storylink=cpy

Former TXU Plays for Time To Pursue Bankruptcy Deal

The troubled Texas power company at the center of a record private-equity buyout intends to make debt payments in May that could let it stave off a bankruptcy filing for as long as another 18 months, according to people close to the situation. The former TXU Corp., now called Energy Future Holdings Corp., plans to pay roughly $270 million in interest due on its bonds May 1, these people said. Enlarge Image The Wall Street Journal The Dallas-based company, which employs more than 9,000 people, plans to make the payments partly because its advisers are in talks with creditors on a so-called prearranged bankruptcy plan and need more time to negotiate a debt-restructuring deal, the people said. In a prearranged bankruptcy, a company strikes a deal with its creditors on a reorganization plan before seeking Chapter 11 protection, hoping to streamline court proceedings. read more at:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324345804578422631933287270.html

Restructuring Pushes Srbijagas To Bankruptcy

ELGRADE – The plan to restructure Srbijagas prepared by the Energy Ministry is pushing the public company into bankruptcy, it can threaten the stability of the domestic market and cause problems in the realization of the South Stream pipeline, Srbijagas CEO Dusan Bajatovic said on Thursday.Bajatovic stressed that he is not against the restructuring of Srbijagas, but that he disagrees with the plan proposed by the Ministry and that he requested that the public debate on the proposal be held again. He told a press conference at Tanjug’s Press Club that Srbijagas has been working on a restructuring plan for two years and that the program includes trade unions. The aim is to get an integrated and financially consolidated company which will have divided activities, but under the umbrella of Srbijagas. read more at:http://inserbia.info/news/2013/04/restructuring-pushes-srbijagas-to-bankruptcy/

In Southwest Tennessee, many seek bankruptcy debt relief early in 2013

April 27, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Bankruptcy can be a great way for consumers saddled with burdensome debt to get a fresh financial start. With the economy slowly gaining steam, bankruptcy filings in the U.S. are down overall in the early months of 2013. However, many areas hit particularly hard by the recession are still struggling. Tennessee had the highest per capita rate of bankruptcy filings in the country during the first quarter of 2012. In an analysis of data from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Tennessee, The Daily News found that many residents of Shelby County are still seeking the protections offered by the bankruptcy code. Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1211399#ixzz2RmOM5crq

$19M Claim Put To Bed In River Road Hotel Bankruptcy

The final substantial claims dispute in River Road Hotel Partners LLC's Chapter 11 plan was settled Wednesday, as a $19 million initial claim was dramatically slashed down to $52,500, clearing the way for the liquidating hotel developer to start paying its creditors. The agreement with EREF Mezzanine LLC was filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and comes nearly 18 months after the Chapter 11 plan was approved by the court in late 2011. “We’re satisfied with the settlement and reasonably pleased to be in a position to conclude the River Road bankruptcy saga,” said Stephen T. Bobo of Reed Smith LLP, attorney for liquidating trustee Michael Kayman. The trustee had objected to EREF Mezzanine’s claim in February 2012, arguing that it was not actually against the debtor, but originated from a loan supposedly given to two other mezzanine funds that had partially underwritten River Road Hotel’s operations, according to court records. EREF Mezzanine was seeking $14.4 million, plus $5 million in accrued interest, from River Road Hotel Mezz LLC and River Road Restaurant Mezz LLC, both of which also petitioned for Chapter 11 protection in August 2009 when River Road Hotel and two affiliates filed for bankruptcy, according to court records. read more at: http://www.law360.com/articles/435878/-19m-claim-put-to-bed-in-river-road-hotel-bankruptcy

Moody's says Detroit bankruptcy could mean further downgrades

(Reuters) - Detroit's already low credit ratings could sink further if the city is allowed to file for bankruptcy, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. The credit rating agency said a decision by the city's state-appointed emergency manager and Michigan's governor to authorize a Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy filing would lead to a restructuring of Detroit's debt that could reduce or delay payments on its outstanding bonds. Moody's, which rates Detroit's general obligation debt deep in the junk category at Caa1 with a negative outlook, also said Detroit could be pushed into bankruptcy if interest rate swap agreements are terminated. While the termination of those agreements has already been triggered, negotiations are ongoing with the swap providers. A termination could cost the city as much as $440 million, or about 22 percent of its annual operating budget. read more at:http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/idUSL2N0DB1TJ20130424

Turkey's refusal to be brow-beaten highlights political bankruptcy of Israeli blockade

Israel's efforts to isolate the Gaza Strip politically are not working. Not even the recruitment of the US secretary of state has been enough to persuade Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to postpone his visit to the besieged enclave. International opposition to the visit has refocused attention on to the occupied Palestinian territory. Similarly, the pressures exerted on the Spanish government to freeze its decision to open a consulate in Gaza have revived the debate about the legality of the Israeli-led blockade and its political value. Israel's policy is morally and politically bankrupt. The reaction by Ankara and Madrid to Israeli pressure contrasted markedly. Turkey reaffirmed its stand immediately and, indeed, has since hosted Gaza's minister of the interior for an official visit. read more at:http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/resources/commentary-and-analysis/5848-turkeys-refusal-to-be-brow-beaten-highlights-political-bankruptcy-of-israeli-blockade

Big city waste contractor in bankruptcy sale

Synagro Technologies Inc., one of the largest contractors working with city government, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday as part of its planned sale to a European private equity group. Synagro president and chief executive officer Eric Zimmer said the Chapter 11 filing in Delaware would not affect the firm's South Philadelphia plant, which turns human waste into fertilizer and fuel. Houston-based Synagro, which has long been financially squeezed, is owned by another equity firm, Carlyle Group. The bankruptcy is an interim step in Synagro's sale to Sweden's EQT Infrastructure II within the next 90 days. The deal is valued at $455 million, Synagro said. Under EQT's ownership, it will continue to use the name Synagro. Zimmer said there would be no changes in the company's 23-year contract with the city, worth $590 million - one of the largest agreements Synagro has with any municipality. read more at: http://articles.philly.com/2013-04-26/news/38819772_1_synagro-technologies-inc-carlyle-group-sale

Insurers Cite Mississippi Valley Silica's 1997 Bankruptcy in Removing Sandblasters' Suits to Federal Court

JACKSON, Miss – St. Paul, Travelers and other insurers named in several recent silica injury cases in Mississippi have cited the 1997 bankruptcy of one silica supplier co-defendant in removing the cases to federal court. The removal notices came despite assertions in each of the complaints that a final bankruptcy decree in Sept. 1998 in defendant Mississippi Valley Silica Co.'s bankruptcy proceeding allows plaintiffs to pursue claims directly against potential insurers. Each plaintiffs also affirmed that complete diversity does not exist and that no federal statutes are implicated. The insurers noted in their removal notice that they have moved to ... read more at:http://harrismartin.com/article/16132/insurers-cite-mississippi-valley-silicas-1997-bankruptcy-in-removing-sandblasters-suits-to-federal-court/

Carlyle’s Synagro files for bankruptcy protection

Synagro Technologies, a Baltimore-based waste recycler owned by the Carlyle Group, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, just days after defaulting on its debt. Carlyle, the D.C.-based private equity giant, borrowed money to take the publicly traded company private in a $772 million deal in 2007. In the ensuing financial crisis, municipalities slashed spending, which caused a significant decline in Synagro’s revenue. read more at: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-04-24/business/38782883_1_carlyle-group-bankruptcy-protection-synagro-technologies

Son of founders buys Entertainment Publications out of bankruptcy for $17.5 million

Troy-based Entertainment Publications LLC announced today that the son of its founders has purchased the 50-year-old company for $17.5 million following a previously announced plan to do so in the wake of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The price, though, is higher than Lowell Potiker of HSP-EPI Acquisition LLC's initial bid to buy the coupon book company's customer list, records, information, files, data, advertising and promotional materials, its intellectual property and all other major assets. The initial bid was $11.3 million, according to a bankruptcy petition filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware on March 12. It wasn't immediately disclosed how many employees have been rehired, but William Daddi of New York City-based Daddi Brand Communications said the company is in the process of "hiring a majority back." There was one other qualified bidder at the auction, Binghamton, N.Y.-based coupon book producer SaveAround, according to Daddi. Observers say Potiker will be dealt the task of rebuilding a company that has struggled with declining revenue, has been unable to adapt sufficiently to the digital age and has seen rapid turnover of ownership and executives over the past several years. read more at:http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130425/NEWS/130429919/son-of-founders-buys-entertainment-publications-out-of-bankruptcy#

Fisker Edges Closer to Bankruptcy as New Details Emerge

The travails continue for Anaheim, Calif.-based Fisker. Executives at the struggling plug-in-vehicle maker met with Congress Wednesday, and new details emerged on Fisker's government dealings. It goes like this. The U.S. Department of Energy approved $529 million in low-interest loans to Fisker in 2010 as part of its $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, which met political fire and ceased loans to any companies in 2011. But now the Detroit News reports Fisker received $32 million in program loans in February 2011 under the notion — as required by the DOE — that it had begun to build the Karma plug-in sedan. Karma production did not, in fact, begin until months later. The federal government found out, and in June 2011, after receiving $192 million of the $529 million awarded, Fisker lost its D.C. sugar daddy. read more at:http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/04/fisker-post.html

Double Fine, UFC Among Claimants in THQ Bankruptcy Case

Over $200 million in claims against defunct publisher THQ have been filed, with more to come before the bankruptcy case ends in May. THQ is gone and most of its properties have found new homes, but that doesn't mean this story is over. Not surprisingly, the defunct publisher, which filed for bankruptcy late last year, owed a lot of people money, and now those people are seeking what they're owed. Over $200 million in claims have been filed, with Microsoft and Double Fine among those looking to collect. The UK-based THQ Holdings Ltd. filed the highest claim, stating it's owed $39 million after loaning money to THQ. Microsoft filed two different claims totaling over $1 million for third-party peripheral licensing and financing fees. Zuffa, LLC, the UFC's parent company, wants $1.9 million in unpaid royalties; THQ published several UFC games between 2009 and early 2012. Double Fine is looking for the $595,000 in royalties it's owed from the sale of downloadable THQ-published titles Stacking and Costume Quest, as well as PlayStation Plus promotions. And not about to be left out, a Tennessee tax assessor wants $2.98. Read more at http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123551-Double-Fine-UFC-Among-Claimants-in-THQ-Bankruptcy-Case#qh34FYJFExeu8tAG.99

Synagro Technologies' bankruptcy will bring jobs to Baltimore

A Wednesday bankruptcy filing by Synagro Technologies Inc. means growth and new jobs for the Baltimore area as the waste recycler consolidates its headquarters in White Marsh. The Carlyle Group LP-owned company, which had been co-headquartered in Baltimore and Houston, said Wednesday that it would use bankruptcy to restructure debt and sell its assets to EQT Infrastructure in a $455 million deal. The company filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization of its debts in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and said it expects the sale to be completed in two to three months. read more at: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-04-24/business/bs-bz-synagro-bankruptcy-20130424_1_bankruptcy-filing-carlyle-group-synagro-technologies-inc

AMR Seeks $3.25B In Financing To Pad Ch. 11 Exit

Law360, New York (April 26, 2013, 6:21 PM ET) -- AMR Corp. on Thursday asked a New York bankruptcy judge to sign off on $3.25 billion in exit financing that would be secured by American Airlines Inc.'s assets in its Latin American travel routes and provide extra liquidity for its eventual emergence from bankruptcy. read more at:http://www.law360.com/bankruptcy/articles/436598/amr-seeks-3-25b-in-financing-to-pad-ch-11-exit

Bankruptcy court approves antitrust settlements between American Airlines, Orbitz and Travelport

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane has approved two antitrust settlements between American Airlines Inc., Orbitz Worldwide Inc. and Travelport Ltd., ending a two-year legal battle. In April, American and Orbitz settled their legal dispute over ticket distribution. In March, American settled claims that Travelport colluded with other reservation systems to stifle competition in providing flight data to travelers and agreed to a new distribution agreement. Both settlements required approval of the bankruptcy court in American and its parent AMR Corp.’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Terms of the settlements were not released. And Lane granted AMR’s request to seal the settlements and Travelport agreement and redact the confidential information from the Travelport agreement,” according to court documents filed yesterday. read more at: http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/bankruptcy-court-approves-antitrust-settlements-between-american-airlines-orbitz-and-travelport.html/

Ex-Delta exec Parker takes aim at bankruptcy committee of creditors

The latest battlefield in the personal bankruptcy case of accused inside-trader oilman Roger Parker took on a different dimension when the former Delta Petroleum exec took aim at the creditors committee overseeing his case. In a court filing last week, Parker noted how the three creditors that make up the committee are actually the biggest and most antagonistic to his financial well-being. They are: • Kirk Kerkorian-owned Tracinda Corp., which bought into Delta and is at the heart of an insider-trading case the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed against Parker and others. It also loaned Parker $7.6 million and has been trying to collect. • Delta Petroleum General Recovery Trust, the remnant of Delta's bankruptcy that wants Parker to give back his interest in a lucrative oil/gas lease. Read more:http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_23110230/ex-delta-exec-parker-takes-aim-at-bankruptcy

Hostess Bakery To Reopen This Summer, Hire 250 After Bankruptcy Cost More Than 500 Jobs

EMPORIA, Kan. -- Hostess Brands LLC says it will reopen its eastern Kansas bakery this summer, with the hiring of an initial 250 people already underway. The announcement was made Thursday by the investment partnership that bought Hostess Brands' snack cake product lines. Twinkies should be back on the shelves this July, executive vice president of Hostess Brands Michael Cramer told NBC News Thursday. More than 500 people lost their jobs when Hostess, then in bankruptcy proceedings, closed the plant in Emporia last November following a strike by union bakers. Hostess Brands LLC paid $410 million for the rights to the Hostess and Dolly Madison snack cake brands, along with five plants. But Emporia City Commissioner Jon Geitz tells KVOE-AM that the reopening of the local plant hadn't been assured until read more at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/hostess-reopen-kansas-bakery-250-jobs_n_3161597.html

New bankruptcy court judge named

Keith L. Phillips has been named a judge in the Richmond division of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He will fill a vacancy being created by the retirement of Judge Douglas O. Tice Jr., who was appointed to the court in September 1987 and will retire effective June 30. Phillips is expected to take the bench in the fall. read more at:http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/economy/new-bankruptcy-court-judge-named/article_c4966292-c329-5549-912a-742604be3e87.html

What Are My Chance of Buying a Home After Bankruptcy?

I am a widow now and need to purchase a home I went through bankruptcy at the end of 2005/2006 and want to know what are my chances of getting a loan to purchase a home. I have purchased a car in 2007 and have paid good. No other credit. the last time I had my credit report checked was in Feb of this year and the score was 640. Also, what are my chances of getting a good interest rate. read more at:http://www.wral.com/what-are-my-chance-of-buying-a-home-after-bankruptcy-ruth/12381603/

Feds: Bankruptcy scam freed impounded vehicles

he scam was perhaps as crafty as it was criminal. A Chicago man was arrested Thursday for soliciting payoffs from drivers whose vehicles had been impounded by the city. The scheme involved filing phony bankruptcy petitions to avoid paying the often hefty auto pound fees, federal prosecutors alleged. The bankruptcy filing put an automatic hold on fines and triggered the release of the vehicle read more at: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-25/news/chi-feds-bankruptcy-scam-freed-impounded-vehicles-20130425_1_bankruptcy-city-pound-revenue-office

Bujak, Canyon County may reach bankruptcy settlement

After former Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak filed his $1.3 million bankruptcy, the bankruptcy trustee sought to recover $171,000 Bujak had paid the county shortly before he resigned. Bankruptcy law allows trustees to seek return of any money the debtor paid in the three months previous to filing bankruptcy documents. The bankruptcy trustee sought not only the money Bujak paid the county, but other proceeds from the nearly $600,000 annual contract Bujak had to handle Nampa misdemeanor cases. County leaders countered that Bujak left office still owing the county about $300,000 from that contract. The two sides reached a proposed $20,000 settlement in March 2012, but a federal judge rejected that deal, saying it could be selling the bankruptcy estate short. The matter was scheduled for trial next week. Now the two sides are asking a judge to approve a new compromise. Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/04/26/2553536/bujak-canyon-county-may-reach.html#storylink=cpy

Intrago files for bankruptcy

ntrago Corp., a Boulder-based company formed in 2005 to rent out Segways and electric bikes in U.S. urban areas and campuses, has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in federal court in Denver. The business listed $3.6 million in liabilities against $4,263 in assets. Intrago aimed to rent out Segway electric vehicles and electric bikes from charging stands in public spots around city centers, corporate and college campuses, large convention centers and other locations where low-speed, emissions-free transportation might be attractive. read more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2013/04/26/intrago-files-for-bankruptcy.html

Richmond lawyer named federal bankruptcy judge

RICHMOND — Richmond bankruptcy attorney Keith Phillips has been chosen to succeed retiring U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Douglas Tice Jr. The judges of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals named Phillips to the 14-year term Thursday. Tice is retiring effective June 30, and Phillips will take the bench in the fall. Phillips has represented debtors, creditors, trustees and creditors' committees in bankruptcy proceedings. He also has served as a mediator, a trustee and state court receiver. He has been a frequent lecturer on bankruptcy matters for various bar organizations. The Richmond native received his undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary and his law degree from the University of Richmond. read more at:http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/richmond-lawyer-named-federal-bankruptcy-judge/article_ee2dbe92-ae69-11e2-b29f-0019bb30f31a.html

The Different Types of Bankruptcy

U.S. federal law provides for six different types of bankruptcy, of which three are the most common: Chapter 7, Chapter 11, and Chapter 13. Before we discuss the details, I’d like to explain why we use such odd names. In order to do so, I need to digress for a moment to explain how U.S. federal laws are organized. (Actually, you may find this interesting in its own right.) Harley Hahn The sheer number of federal laws is so large as to defy understanding. Not only are countless laws already on the books, but there are many changes every year. In fact, every time Congress passes, modifies, or repeals a law, someone has to keep track of the changes. This job is so important that there exists an entire government department devoted to this task. This organization is the “Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives” (usually referred to as the “LRC”). read more at: http://www.independent.com/news/2013/apr/28/different-types-bankruptcy/

San Bernardino is making progress against bankruptcy

For the past seven years, the City Attorney's Office, along with the council members from the Seventh and Fifth wards, have been the most vocal critics and opponents of the direction in which San Bernardino was moving. On Aug. 23, 2010, our office predicted the city would go bankrupt if the pending budget was adopted. Those same two council members agreed. Not only were our collective concerns ignored, but a specific group of individuals, mostly non-residents, claimed we were being divisive and not "team players." Later that year, members of this group backed a charter amendment to make the city attorney an appointed rather than an elected office. That effort failed. The following year, when we refused in writing to sign off on that year's budget because it was not balanced, this same group recruited an out-of-county attorney to move in and run, unsuccessfully, for city attorney. Today that same group demands replacing all elected city officials with candidates they have chosen. They boast they will put up the money to accomplish this, their takeover of our city read more at: http://www.sbsun.com/opinions/ci_23116279/san-bernardino-is-making-progress-against-bankruptcy

Primacy of pensions in city bankruptcy may be issue for U.S. court in July

A U.S. judge in July could take up the issue of whether a bankrupt city can shield workers' pensions while inflicting heavy losses on bond holders and other creditors, a lawyer for California's pension fund for public employees said on Friday.Since filing for bankruptcy last year, the California city of Stockton has made a point of maintaining payments to the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or Calpers, while targeting creditors for steep losses. Whether Stockton may press on with that approach could be taken up in coming weeks by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein, who did not take up the matter during a three-day trial last month on Stockton's eligibility for bankruptcy. read more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/27/stockton-calpers-idUSL2N0DD33220130427

Harrisburg mayoral candidates on bankruptcy: Avoid it, 4 of 5 say

HARRISBURG — Just one of four mayoral candidates running in the May 21 primary has been a staunch supporter of proceeding with bankruptcy to deal with the capital city’s financial struggles. As time passes, however, some Harrisburg residents are warming to that option, because they’ve not seen compelling evidence that progress has been made toward reaching an out-of-court solution. In the meantime, they were hit in January with earned-income taxes up to 2 percent from 1 percent. And as they fork over more of their money, the city’s police and fire rosters keep shrinking despite recruitment efforts, sinkholes continue to close roads and prompt boil water advisories, more than 300 blighted structures stand, and trash piles sit untouched for months. read more at: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/04/harrisburg_mayoral_candidates_11.html

Fisker Tells Congressional Hearing It Is Considering Filing For Bankruptcy

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently released new documents according to which the struggling plug-in hybridautomaker was facing deeper quality and financial issues than those previously known. The documents also show that the Energy Department knew about these problems and still offered Fisker a loan $192 million, before it halted in June 2011 the rest of the money until $529 million, the government planned to offer the automaker. read more at: http://www.autospies.com/news/Fisker-Tells-Congressional-Hearing-It-Is-Considering-Filing-For-Bankruptcy-75785/

United States: Yarway Files For Bankruptcy, Citing Asbestos-Related Litigation

On Monday, April 22, 2013, Yarway Corporation filed a chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. According to papers filed by Yarway with the Bankruptcy Court, the company's origins go back to 1908 when it started manufacturing pipe clamps, steam traps and valves. See Yarway's Affidavit in Support of First Day Pleadings (the "Decl."), at *1. The company was privately owned until 1986, when it was sold to Keystone International, Inc.. Keystone was purchased by Tyco International Ltd. in 1997. Decl. at *2 read more at: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/235980/Insolvency+Bankruptcy/Yarway+Files+For+Bankruptcy+Citing+AsbestosRelated+Litigation

Power Broker Energy Futures Holdings Proposes Bankruptcy Plan

Energy Future Holdings Corp. has reached a tentative agreement to file a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Sources say the power producer, which was the target of a private sale six years ago that led to the largest leveraged buyout in American history, is particularly concerned with the $32 billion debt of its subsidiary, Texas Competitive Electric Holdings. Texas Competitive’s massive debt is one of the primary reasons for its parent's decision to file for bankruptcy, according to sources. If all goes to plan, Energy Future will send Texas Competitive, which sells energy to wholesale markets, and a few other units into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. read more at: http://www.totalbankruptcy.com/bankruptcy-news/bankruptcy-help/energy-futures-holdings-800935442.aspx

Former supermodel Janice Dickinson files for bankruptcy

Janice Dickinson has filed for bankruptcy, the self-proclaimed world's first supermodel confirms. "I had some trouble, so yes, it is true," Dickinson confirmed to Radar Online on Monday. "I am upset and taking every step to pay everyone back and I feel terrible about it." Court documents obtained by the New York Post allege that the former "America's Next Top Model" judge has racked up nearly $1 million in debt not only to the government but to plastic surgeons and comestic-procedure professionals who have enabled her penchant for looking youthful. read more at:http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-janice-dickinson-bankruptcy-20130423,0,4905874.story

Hilo Brewery Faces Bankruptcy Battle

Less than two weeks after a Hilo-based craft brewery filed for bankruptcy protection to reorganize its assets, the move is coming under fire from three of its largest creditors, including its landlord. Hawaii Nui Brewing LLC, makers of Mehana and Hawaii Nui beer brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 10. At the time, it cited assets between $100,000 and $500,000 and debts between $1 million and $10 million. read more at:http://bigislandnow.com/2013/04/25/hilo-brewery-faces-bankruptcy-battle/

Stockton, Creditors Tell Judge Bankruptcy Talks Will Resume (1)

Stockton, California, the biggest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, intends to restart talks with creditors while it develops a plan to adjust debt and exit court protection by year’s end. Lawyers for the city and creditors told a federal judge yesterday that they want to try to negotiate an end to the Chapter 9 case after a months-long fight over whether Stockton should be thrown out of bankruptcy. read more at: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-04-24/stockton-creditors-say-debt-talks-will-be-restarted-1

Kit Digital Files for Bankruptcy After Shareholder Accord

a developer of software for managing digital video, filed for bankruptcy after reaching an agreement with some shareholders on a prepackaged restructuring plan. The company, based in New York, listed assets and debt of more than $10 million each in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Kit said April 16 that it would file for bankruptcy on April 24 with a debt plan supported by three of the largest shareholders. Kit indicated in the petition that a plan will be filed, though it hasn’t yet been posted on the docket. read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-25/kit-digital-files-for-bankruptcy-after-shareholder-accord.html

The Daily Docket: Synagro Enters Bankruptcy

Waste processor Synagro Technologies Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday with an offer in hand to be acquired by an affiliate of Swedish private-equity firm EQT. Read the Daily Bankruptcy Review article here. (Daily Bankruptcy Review and DBR Small Cap are daily newsletters with comprehensive coverage and analysis of emerging and in-progress insolvencies and turnarounds. For a two-week trial, visit our homepage, scroll to the bottom and click “try for free.”) With top executives’ pay a hot-button topic, some companies in Chapter 11 are simply keeping the information out of the view of creditors and anxious employees. Read the DBR article via The Wall Street Journal. The company that bought the Twinkie, Ho Ho and Ding Dong brands out of bankruptcy is gearing up to reopen plants and hire workers, but it won’t be using union labor, DBR reports via WSJ. read more at:http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2013/04/25/the-daily-docket-synagro-enters-bankruptcy/

Feds: Bankruptcy scam freed impounded vehicles

The scam was perhaps as crafty as it was criminal. A Chicago man was arrested Thursday for soliciting payoffs from drivers whose vehicles had been impounded by the city. The scheme involved filing phony bankruptcy petitions to avoid paying the often hefty auto pound fees, federal prosecutors alleged. The bankruptcy filing put an automatic hold on fines and triggered the release of the vehicle. Authorities announced charges against Daniel Rankins, 30, and alleged that others were involved in the scheme as well. The investigation continues, they said. read more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-feds-bankruptcy-scam-freed-impounded-vehicles-20130425,0,2232213.story

Types of bankruptcy

In our society today, revisions to the bankruptcy laws and changes in consumer attitude toward bankruptcy have fostered a climate in which individuals and businesses many times regard bankruptcy as a more plausible remedy for financial problems than disciplined financial management. A revised Bankruptcy Code, enacted in 1978, took effect on October 1, 1979. The Code consolidated some chapters of previous laws pertaining to business reorganizations and sought to streamline the administration of the bankruptcy courts, but its most sweeping changes involved personal bankruptcy. This revision made bankruptcy a more attractive option for both personal and business debtors, primarily because it increased the amount of assets that could be exempt from liquidation. The revised Bankruptcy Code generally accommodated and regulated three primary kinds of bankruptcy: corporate, personal, and farm reorganization. read more at: https://www.crown.org/Library/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=577

Former Macon doctor indicted in federal bankruptcy fraud case

Federal grand jurors have indicted a former Macon podiatrist on four counts of bankruptcy fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Dr. George Robert Vito allegedly made false statements under oath by filing documents in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in which he intentionally omitted certain financial details, including his financial interests as well as control and ownership of a number of corporations, according to a news release. Vito also filed an amendment in his case in which he allegedly intentionally left out certain assets including cash, income, furniture, jewelry, real property and corporations, according to the release. The indictment, filed Thursday, also alleges Vito knowingly made a false assertion that his bankruptcy petition and supporting documents were “true and correct” and that he provided false testimony at a creditor’s meeting, according to the release. Read more here: http://www.macon.com/2013/04/12/2435943/former-macon-doctor-indicted-in.html#storylink=cpy

Assured Seeks New Ruling on Stockton Pre-Bankruptcy Talks

Assured Guaranty Corp., fighting to avoid losses in the bankruptcy case of Stockton, California, asked a judge to reverse a ruling that it and other creditors failed to negotiate in good faith with the city. The insurer asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Klein in Sacramento to reverse his April 1 finding that so- called capital markets creditors acted as a “stone wall” during pre-bankruptcy negotiations with the city. Assured and other creditors had argued that the city should be thrown out of bankruptcy because it failed to negotiate with them in good faith. The judge rejected their arguments and found that the creditors were the ones who failed to negotiate seriously because they “voted with their feet” by quitting the talks, which the company denied in court papers. read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-12/assured-seeks-new-ruling-on-stockton-pre-bankruptcy-talks.html

Surviving bankruptcy in the medical boom time

Joseph Cece, founder and CEO of AeroCare Medical Transport System, had no intention of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2012 — but then, no business owner ever does. The Chicago-based air ambulance company, which has had a Scottsdale operation since 2005, wasn’t able to work out payments with lenders and was forced into bankruptcy. read more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/health-care-daily/2013/04/surviving-bankruptcy-in-the-medical.html

Bankruptcy deal adds $5.5 million from GM to clean up Ley Creek, Onondaga Lake

Washington -- Federal prosecutors said today they have reached a deal that will provide an additional $5.5 million from the assets of the old General Motors Corp. to pay for environmental restoration work along Ley Creek and Onondaga Lake. The latest deal means that almost $80 million will be set aside for Ley Creek cleanup work from the $899 million federal trust fund established by the federal government and the old GM as part of the auto company's bankruptcy and federal bailout. The trust fund will pay for cleanup and redevelopment of 89 former GM properties across the nation, including the GM Inland Fisher Guide plant in Salina that closed in 1993, eliminating 1,300 jobs. GM left behind PCBs, heavy metals and other chemical waste on the land surrounding its Salina plant, including the old Salina Landfill and Ley Creek, a tributary of Onondaga Lake. read more at: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/04/bankruptcy_deal_adds_55_millio.html

Alabama county fires attorney in largest municipal bankruptcy

Birmingham, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama's Jefferson County fired its attorney for not working in its best interests, weeks before the county is expected to present a plan to emerge from the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy. Jeff Sewell, who was placed on administrative leave earlier this week, had been in the legal department for 25 years. More than 800 workers have been let go since the county filed for bankruptcy in 2011. The county commissioners said the dismissal on Friday was due to directions given by Sewell to the county's outside attorneys "that were not in the best interests of Jefferson County." They added that the termination would not affect the recovery plan, which would detail how the county intends to fix its debt to exit municipal bankruptcy. read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/alabama-county-fires-attorney-largest-municipal-bankruptcy-214642295.html

Bankruptcy judge: No $20M payout for AMR CEO

DALLAS (AP) — A federal bankruptcy judge has denied a proposed $20 million severance payment for the CEO of American Airlines as part of the company's merger with US Airways. The judge ruled late Thursday that the proposed payment to CEO Tom Horton exceeded limits that Congress set for bankruptcy cases in 2005. TRAVEL: Ruling isn't expect to sidetrack the merger The U.S. trustee's office, part of the Department of Justice, had objected to Horton's compensation. Judge Sean Lane declined to approve the payment during a hearing on March 28, but he didn't issue a ruling until Thursday. read more at:http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/12/judge-denies-20m-severance-for-amr-ceo/2076901/

Bankruptcy estate of meningitis-linked pharmacy to battle states

BOSTON (Reuters) - The bankruptcy estate of the pharmacy linked to a deadly U.S. meningitis outbreak plans to battle nearly 30 states to preserve its right to redeem several million dollars worth of insurance policies for creditors. The insurance policies are key assets in New England Compounding Center's bankruptcy estate. Paul Moore, the trustee for NECC's bankruptcy estate, requested court approval to hire Collora LLP, a Boston law firm known for its high-profile defense work, according to documents filed on Friday. Collora would battle pharmacy board regulators from at least 28 states and contend with an ongoing, previously disclosed investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, according to the trustee. raed more at: http://news.yahoo.com/bankruptcy-estate-meningitis-linked-pharmacy-battle-states-222013473.html

Nebraska man pleads guilty to bankruptcy fraud

OMAHA, Neb. —An eastern Nebraska man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bankruptcy fraud and faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced this summer. Read the rest at: http://www.ketv.com/news/local-news/Nebraska-man-pleads-guilty-to-bankruptcy-fraud/-/9674510/19391968/-/st16gdz/-/index.html#ixzz2O8v0tDfq

GTM Research on Suntech’s Bankruptcy: An Optical Illusion

We've been covering Suntech's spiral into bankruptcy as the firm looks to transform into a state owned entity. Meanwhile, Shyam Mehta, GTM Research solar analyst, offers some observations: Ramifications for Suntech: On one hand, the Suntech bankruptcy is an unprecedented event: it is the first company based in mainland China to default on public debt, and the first established Chinese solar firm to enter into insolvency. However, at the same time, all signs point to the city of Wuxi taking over Suntech's Wuxi-based manufacturing subsidiary through one of its holding companies, meaning that Suntech is likely to continue operations as a solar manufacturer. Wuxi's Stake: The insolvency proceedings are to be expected because the city of Wuxi has no incentive to pay back Suntech's bondholders or other creditors or salvage any value for Suntech's shareholders. Its only motivation is to maintain the jobs created in Wuxi by Suntech's manufacturing operations. Chinese Solar Bailouts: If Wuxi does indeed take over Suntech's manufacturing operations as expected, it will serve as yet another case of a near-insolvent Chinese solar firm being bailed out by its local government, following in the footsteps of LDK Solar (Xinyu), Shanghai Chaori Solar (Fengxian) and CNPV Solar (Dongying). As time goes by and the balance sheets of other Chinese solar firms continue to deteriorate, we are likely to see this pattern repeated again and again, whether Beijing approves of it or not. City and district governments will likely do all they can to help their solar companies continue operating and maintain their workforces. Consolidation in Name Alone: As regards the fact that eight Chinese banks filed a petition for insolvency against Suntech, which is what triggered the event, the superficial reading is that Beijing and higher-level state lenders are willing to allow even established Chinese solar companies to fail to allow much-needed consolidation in China to occur. However, as surmised above, it is likely that Suntech will continue operating, effectively as a Wuxi-owned company, which undermines that notion. For consolidation to occur, we have to see firms actually exiting the market or merging/acquiring other firms. Otherwise, the situation will not change. Read the rest at http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/GTM-Research-on-Suntechs-Bankruptcy-An-Optical-Illusion

Directory firms Dex One, SuperMedia file for bankruptcy

(Reuters) - Dex One Corp (DEXO.N) and SuperMedia Inc (SPMD.O) have both filed for bankruptcy protection after the directories publishers failed to win the full support of senior secured lenders for a change to a credit agreement needed to complete their planned merger. Dex One, formerly known as R.H. Donnelley Corp, and SuperMedia agreed last year to combine their businesses, with Dex One shareholders expected to own about 60 percent and SuperMedia shareholders the rest of the combined company. Unusual for bankruptcies, stockholders of both companies will not be legally impacted by the Chapter 11 filings, and the shares of both companies rose sharply on Monday. The bankruptcy filings are the second ones in four years for each of the companies. As part of the proposed deal, Dex One and SuperMedia agreed with a committee of senior lenders to amend their credit agreements to extend the maturity dates of the companies' senior secured debt up to 26 months until December 31, 2016. Read the rest at http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/us-dexone-bankruptcy-idUSBRE92H05Q20130318

Cyprus works on Plan B to stave off bankruptcy

The Cypriot government and the country's central bank were working Wednesday on an alternative proposal to stave off bankruptcy, a day after its parliament rejected an initial plan to raise billions of euros by seizing up to 10 percent of people's bank savings. Tuesday's decisive rejection of the plan to take a slice of all deposits above 20,000 euros has left the country's bailout in question and fueled fears that the Cypriot economy is on the cusp of bankruptcy and could potentially have to leave the euro. That scenario that could roil global financial markets as well as endanger deposits in the country even further. Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said a meeting was underway at the central bank to discuss an alternative plan for raising funds, but also for reducing the 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) that must be found domestically. Cyprus' Orthodox Church offers to mortgage assets to help secure bailout Royal Air Force sends funds to cash-strapped Cyprus Cyprus lawmakers reject bank tax bill President Nicos Anastasiades was also meeting with the representatives of his country's potential creditors the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Commission. The three, collectively known as the troika, must sign off on any Plan B the Cypriots come up with if it is to be approved as part of the bailout. Read the rest at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57575299/cyprus-works-on-plan-b-to-stave-off-bankruptcy/

Frontiers LA Files For Bankruptcy

Frontiers Media, the financially troubled publisher of Southern California’s leading gay magazine, has filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The filing, made March 6 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, claims Frontiers has liabilities of $3.2 million and assets of $342,000, only $58,000 of which is in cash. Frontiers made a Chapter 11 filing, which, if approved by the bankruptcy judge, will allow it to continue operating. A bankruptcy trustee and the bankruptcy court will decide which of Frontiers’ creditors are paid and how much they receive. The company’s largest creditor is Wells Fargo Bank, to which it owes $1.6 million. Another major creditor, owed $242,000, is the estate of Mark Hundahl, who, until his death in December, was co-owner of Frontiers LA with publisher and owner David Stern. Stern himself argues that he is owed $191,600. Other major creditors are printers, lawyers and the landlord for Frontiers’ offices at 5657 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. Frontiers also owes payments to freelance writers, some of whom haven’t been paid in several months. Its bankruptcy filing indicates it owes $5,560 to Frank Morales, associate publisher and ad director at Frontiers Media, and $3,942 to Dustin Tyner, managing director of integrated media. Payments owed to employees totaled $37,000 on March 6, according to the filing. Read the rest at http://www.wehoville.com/2013/03/20/frontiers-la-files-for-bankruptcy/

The billion-dollar cloud lingering over GM's bankruptcy

More than two years after General Motors received court approval for a plan to issue its old creditors stock in its shiny new self, a dispute among those creditors threatens to saddle the new company with almost $1 billion in liability. In a statement filed this week before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber of Manhattan, the new company and warring creditor factions disclosed that mediation has failed to produce a settlement of creditor allegations that one group of noteholders extracted preferential treatment from the company as it teetered on the verge of Chapter 11 in 2009. The failure of mediation means that Gerber will be left to reach a ruling based on testimony he heard last fall in an adversary proceeding initiated by the trustee for GM's unsecured creditors. Depending on what the judge makes of the trustee's allegations that four distressed debt hedge funds - Elliot, Appaloosa, Aurelius and Fortress - forced old GM to accede to what amounts to a $367 million fraudulent conveyance, there's even an outside chance that GM's entire 2009 asset sale could be voided. That's a very remote prospect, but the mere possibility shows the risk to new GM in this little-noticed case. The backstory on the hedge funds and their deal with old GM is incredibly complicated, but I'll boil it down. According to the trustee's complaint, filed in March 2012, distressed debt investors began snatching up notes issued by a GM subsidiary called Nova Scotia Financing Company in late 2008 and early 2009, when GM seemed to be well on its way to Chapter 11. Nova Scotia's only real assets were two intercompany loans to GM Canada, which was operating in the same straits as its parent company. GM did not want GM Canada to go into bankruptcy, presumably because it didn't want to deal with bankruptcy proceedings in two different countries at the same time. So the hedge funds that held Nova Scotia notes knew GM was desperate to resolve their potential claims against GM Canada. Days before GM filed for Chapter 11, the parent company loaned $450 million to GM Canada, earmarked for a deal with the Nova Scotia noteholders. Lawyers for GM and the noteholders negotiated right up to - or possibly just after - GM's filing on June 1, 2009. Indeed, the precise timing of their actual settlement is a matter of dispute (and legal consequence). The trustee for GM's other secured creditors claims that the final agreement was not completed until after GM filed for Chapter 11, which would make the deal subject to the bankruptcy court's approval. GM says it reached the agreement minutes before it filed its Chapter 11 petition. (New GM's lawyers at King & Spalding have also argued that details of the settlement with the Nova Scotia noteholders were repeatedly disclosed in various documents early in the bankruptcy.) Read the rest at http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/ViewNews.aspx?id=72143&terms=%40ReutersTopicCodes+CONTAINS+'ANV'

Chinese banks force Suntech into bankruptcy

Solar panel maker Suntech said today that eight Chinese banks had filed a petition with a local court to declare the company’s Chinese operations bankrupt. Once the world’s biggest solar module manufacturer, Suntech’s Chinese subsidiary, Wuxi Suntech Power Holdings, owes $1.4 billion to Chinese banks, according to a presentation made to bondholders last November. This morning, Suntech had a market cap of $106 million. The Suntech saga is being watched closely as a bellwether for the global solar industry. Fueled by cheap government loans, Suntech, Yingli, Trina and other photovoltaic panel manufacturers ramped up production in recent years, sending panel prices plummeting 75% and capturing a large share of the worldwide market. China is now home to about 80% of global solar module manufacturing capacity. The Chinese solar expansion set off a boom in Europe and the US as installers took advantage of cheap solar panels to expand their business. The collapse of Suntech and other Chinese manufacturers could leave installers like SolarCity on the hook for hundreds of millions in warranties. Having helped build a global solar industry in less than a decade, the question now is whether the Chinese government will engineer its contraction to shrink capacity and allow the surviving companies to thrive. Read the rest at http://qz.com/65127/chinese-banks-force-suntech-into-bankruptcy/

High bidder for Grant farm backed organic grower before bankruptcy Read more: High bidder for Grant farm backed organic grower before bankruptcy - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22834108/high-bidder-grant-farm-backed-organic-grower-before#ixzz2O8t4dR5V Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content

Localization Partners on Wednesday was the high bidder for 770 acres of land leases and intangibles belonging to bankrupt Grant Family Farms. The consortium of investors, who last year fronted about $1.5 million to stave off the organic farm's bankruptcy, bid $45,000 for nine land leases. The investors also offered $40,000 for intangibles, including the farm's website domain, Grantfarms.com, customer databases and the brand names Grant Family Farms, Grant Family Farms Certified Organic Colorado, Owl Canyon, Rocky Mountain Sweet and Colorado's Finest. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court must approve the sale at a special hearing April 11. Bankruptcy trustee Joli Lofstedt said there were seven bidders, most of who were local. Bidding was held at the Louisville Recreation Center and lasted for about an hour. Read the rest at http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22834108/high-bidder-grant-farm-backed-organic-grower-before

Creditors of defunct TPG funds defend forced bankruptcy

March 20 (Reuters) - Creditors of defunct financing vehicles of private equity giant TPG Capital are escalating a battle over whether a dissolved entity can be forced into bankruptcy. In court papers filed on Monday, the creditors asked a bankruptcy judge to deny a bid by one of the financing vehicles to have an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition dismissed. The creditors, a group of hedge funds led by SPQR Capital, filed the bankruptcy petition in December against TPG Troy LLC. TPG Troy argued last month that it could not be in bankruptcy because, essentially, it no longer exists. But SPQR and fellow creditors say dissolved companies are still liable for their debts. The creditors hold notes issued by subsidiaries of TIM Hellas, a Greek telecommunications company that was owned in part by TPG Troy. They claim they are owed 111 million euros ($143 million) after Hellas defaulted on the notes. The default, they argue, was caused by an "elaborate shell game" of money transfers orchestrated by TPG Troy to keep money out of creditors' hands. The default has led to an onslaught of litigation from the noteholders. According to court papers filed last month by TPG Troy, it faces 13 lawsuits in New York, California, Delaware and Europe, which it said amounted to "forum shopping" by its creditors. SPQR's attempt to use bankruptcy court to resolve the matter is just one more example of forum shopping, TPG Troy said. The TPG Troy case is not first one in which bankruptcy has been used as a way to resolve a technical financial dispute. In 2011, Zais Investment Grade Ltd VII, or ZING, was forced into bankruptcy by noteholders for the purpose of liquidating certain notes. ZING, an issuer of collateralized debt obligations, had no business operations, no officers, and no headquarters outside a Cayman Islands mailbox. Jared Stamell, a lawyer for SPQR and other creditors in the TPG Troy case, said the growing complexity of financial instruments has brought about unconventional uses of bankruptcy. Read the rest at http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Bankruptcy/News/2013/03_-_March/Creditors_of_defunct_TPG_funds_defend_forced_bankruptcy/

After Bankruptcy, do I Owe on 2nd Mortgage?

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy that was discharged in 2009. I was paying my second mortgage loan to the bank for four years without a reaffirmation agreement. I never missed a payment during that time. I recently found out the bank wrote off that loan and gave it to a credit collection agency, which I have not heard from. If the bank wrote off the loan, it means the loan is defunct, correct? Would being in Chapter 7 also alleviate any lawsuits against me? Does it also mean the collection agency cannot legally do anything since I completed my bankruptcy? -Mike Dear Mike, Great questions, but you are not clear on a few major issues. I get this question a lot, and while I know you are just hoping to have some equity in your home, you still have to deal with the second mortgage. Based on the information you did give me, I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability. You are correct that the second mortgage lender cannot sue you. Because you received a discharge in your Chapter 7 bankruptcy and you did not reaffirm the loan, the lender no longer has the right to sue you to enforce its loan. You had to reaffirm the loan while your bankruptcy was active in order to re-establish liability. However, this is the key part of what you may not understand. When you received the first and second mortgage loans, the lender places a lien against the house for each loan. You have to pay both loans to own the home free and clear. In some states, the lender can sue you for failing to pay on either or both loans. The successful bankruptcy eliminates the lenders' right to sue you, but it does not remove the liens from the property. To remove the liens, you must pay the loans. Read the rest at: http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/03/19/after-bankruptcy-do-owe-on-2nd-mortgage/#ixzz2O8sh2VkB

Suntech Unit Declares Bankruptcy

HONG KONG — Suntech Power, a Chinese manufacturer that became the world’s largest producer of solar panels by 2011 only to be battered by plummeting prices, announced on Wednesday evening that its main operating subsidiary had been pushed into bankruptcy by eight Chinese banks. Suntech was the Icarus of the solar panel industry, with production that soared year after year on heavy investment, as Western investors bought up its New York-traded shares and its international debt issues. Part of a massive Chinese government effort to dominate renewable energy industries, Suntech grew to 10,000 employees in its hometown of Wuxi and even set up a small factory in Arizona to do further assembly of panels there. But a 10-fold expansion of overall Chinese solar panel manufacturing capacity from 2008 to 2012 produced a three-quarters drop in solar panel prices, undermining the economics of the business. Rapid expansion of natural gas production in the United States and a curtailment of subsidies in the European Union also hurt solar panel prices, as did an American imposition last year of import tariffs totaling about 40 percent after an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation. The European Union is also completing its own trade investigation of Chinese solar panel shipments that could lead to steep tariffs there as well. The Chinese banks quietly asked a court on Monday in Wuxi to declare the operating subsidiary, Wuxi Suntech, to be insolvent and begin restructuring it. The operating subsidiary notified the court on Wednesday that it did not object to the insolvency petition. Suntech Power, the parent, said that it was not filing for bankruptcy and would continue to honor warranties on the company’s solar panels. Read the rest at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/business/energy-environment/suntech-declares-bankruptcy-china-says.html