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Weinstein Company Bankruptcy – Harvey Weinstein Pleads “Not Guilty”
*** FURTHER UPDATE *** In a further development related to the Weinstein Company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, disgraced former CEO Harvey Weinstein today entered “not guilty” pleas to several charges in the State of New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. The pleas apply to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count each…
CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY FILINGS – 770 AS OF MARCH, 2018 – HIGHEST IN 7 YEARS
*** UPDATE *** (See prior article on this blog – “Chapters in Bankruptcy, a Short Primer…”) The number of Chapter 11 (“reorganization” bankruptcy) filings has reached an all-time high since 2011. In that year, there were 789 Chapter 11 filings as the nation was still trying to recover from the “great recession” of 2008 –…
Dodd-Frank: Title XIV – Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act
Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), was brought about as a reaction to the lending practices that had lead to the burst of the real estate bubble in 2008. Many mortgages prior to the burst of the real estate bubble included clauses that were unfavorable to those…
Exceptions to Credit Counseling Course requirement in Bankruptcy
One of the requirements for filing a petition with the Bankruptcy Court is to take a credit counseling course. Under Title 11 U.S.C. Section 521(b) debtors are require to file with the court a certificate from the approved nonprofit budget and credit counseling agency, which must have been completed within 180 days before the filing…
Leveraged Buyouts… Bain Capital… And The “Art” Of Bankrupting Companies
lev·er·aged buy·out ˌlev(ə)rijd ˈbīˌout/ – noun Plural noun: leveraged buyouts The purchase of a controlling share of a company by its management, using outside capital A leveraged buyout (“LBO”) is the acquisition of one company (or division of a “target” company) by another outside company using a significant amount of borrowed money to finance the…
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy
Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code allows debtors to have their debts forgiven through liquidation. During this process, nonexempt assets are sold and the proceeds are distributed to creditors. Unlike Chapter 13 bankruptcy, where a debtor retains their property and pays back a portion of their debts, Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharges remaining debts so the…
Gibson Brands, Inc. DBA Gibson Guitars Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
*** UPDATE TO PREVIOUS ARTICLE *** Ending months of speculation concerning the future of the once iconic guitar manufacturing company, Gibson Brands, Inc., the parent of Gibson Guitars, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection earlier this week. The Nashville, TN-based company is said to have in excess of $100 million in outstanding debt (some reports…
Chapters In Bankruptcy: A Short Primer
RE: CHAPTER 7, 11, & 13 BANKRUPTCIES This article is intended to provide background information on, and will discuss three chapters of the United States Bankruptcy Code – Chapter 7 (“liquidation” or “discharge” bankruptcy); Chapter 11 (“reorganization” bankruptcy); and, Chapter 13 (“wage-earner” bankruptcy). Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code provides…
Rookie Bankruptcy Paralegal Anthony Rodriguez
Episode 1: The Journey My name is Anthony Rodriguez. At age 33 I found myself barely making it in the San Fernando Valley located in the county of Los Angeles, California. Even making a decent income every year, I was still living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet. Single, no kids and…
Connecticut – a Legacy of Debt and the Possibility of Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
The State of Connecticut ended the 2017 fiscal year on a note of financial doom. As of the end of December, 2017, the state had the most underfunded pension system in the nation with over $127 billion in government-worker pension liabilities and no viable plan to institute needed reforms. Public-Worker Pensions – The BIG Problem:…
Chapter 9 Bankruptcy – Santa Cruz, CA & Calpers Pension Crises
The City of Santa Cruz, CA is one of the latest municipalities to fall into what some have called a “…disturbing trend that will end in a full-fledged pension crisis” across the breadth and width of the nation. Santa Cruz is a California coastal community of 65,000 residents situated some 75 miles southwest of San…
Public Sector Pension Plans: A “Ticking Time Bomb”
According to a December, 2017, washingtonfreebeacon.com report “…unfunded liabilities of state public pension funds increased by $433 billion over the past year and presently exceed $6 trillion…”. The report continues, “Unfunded liabilities of public pension plans continue to loom over state governments nationwide. Absent significant reforms, unfunded liabilities of state-administered pension plans will continue to grow…