Bankruptcy

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A Georgia bankruptcy court on April 17 issued a significant ruling that breaks new ground concerning how future claimants’ representatives in asbestos bankruptcies (“FCRs”) are chosen.  In In re The Fairbanks Co., Case No. 18-41768-PWB (Bankr. N.D. Ga. April 17, 2019), the bankruptcy court held that (i) any party in interest may nominate an FCR candidate for the court’s consideration, (ii) the court must apply an “independent inquiry” into a proposed FCR’s qualifications, without giving…
WMC Mortgage, LLC, a Woodland Hills, CA-based mortgage loan originator that has been winding down operations since 2007, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 19-10879).  According to the First Day Declaration, WMC ceased originating new mortgages in 2007 during the Great Recession and has since focused solely on winding up its affairs.  The Declaration further explains that since 2007, WMC…
Fuse, LLC, along with eight affiliates and subsidiaries (“Fuse Media”), has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 19-10872).  Fuse Media, a multicultural media company composed principally of two cable networks, Fuse and FM, is headquartered in Glendale, CA.  According to the First Day Declaration, Fuse Media has filed for chapter 11 as a result of the general headwinds facing…
Last month, Congress reintroduced the Small Business Reorganization Act (“SBRA”), under which a new subchapter V would be added to chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.  This new subchapter would provide small businesses with aggregate liabilities that do not exceed $2,566,050 with an opportunity to resolve outstanding liabilities through a streamlined and cost‑effective chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.  The SBRA also offers small business owners the opportunity to preserve their ownership interest in…
Upcoming Committee Formation Meeting: Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Case Name: 19-10844 (BLS) Location: Delaware State Bar Association 405 King Street, 2nd Floor Wilmington, DE 19801 Notice of Formation Meeting for Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors can be found here. See the petition for relief. Contact Norman L. Pernick, G. David Dean or Myles R. MacDonald for more information regarding this matter.…
NanoMech, Inc., a manufacturer of proprietary lubricants, specialty chemicals, pastes, paints, coatings, and advanced textiles based in Springdale, Arkansas, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 19-10851).  The Petition estimates NanoMech’s assets and liabilities to both be between $10 – $50 million.  According to the First Day Declaration, NanoMech enters chapter 11 intending to either reorganize its capital structure or sell…
Achaogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative antibiotic treatments headquartered in South San Francisco, CA, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 19-10844).  According to the First Day Declaration, Achaogen has filed as a result of an industry-wide pullback from antibiotic research, which has dried up the financing needed by Achaogen to commercialize…
On 10 April 2019, the government launched an Independent Review into the Quality and Effectiveness of Audit. This comes at a time when the Business Select Committee has called for the Big 4 accountancy firms to be split up and also reports in the news that following the failures of Carillion, Patisserie Valerie, Interserve and others, shareholders are going to give very close scrutiny to the performance of auditors and not merely rubber-stamp their re-appointment…