Saturday, May 25, 2013

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.

Friday, May 17, 2013

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