Category Archives: Bankruptcy

STAMFORD Three years ago this week, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy. Around this time a year ago, it had just secured a bankruptcy judges approval for a settlement plan. But today, its bankruptcy remains unfinished.

Given the complexity and contentiousness of Stamford-based Purdues bankruptcy which is attempting to settle several thousand lawsuits filed against the company related to its alleged role in the nationalopioid crisis a protracted process was inevitable. Even after resolving longstanding disputes with states such as Connecticut, uncertainty persists about when the bankruptcy will conclude, further heightening concerns about when settlement funds will finallybe disbursed to help tackle an unrelenting epidemic.

There have been risks to a bankruptcy process with so many creditors and claimants and states, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in an interview. I hear from opioid victims and survivors, and theyre concerned that there continues to be risk in this process. Theres been risk in this process all along.

In response to an inquiry from Hearst Connecticut Media, Purdue reiterated its intent to enact its settlement plan.

Weve made great progress during the bankruptcy. Today, nearly every creditor agrees that the plan is the fairest and best way to deliver billions of dollars of value for victim compensation, opioid crisis abatement and overdose-rescue medicines, the company said in a statement. We are optimistic that the courts will ultimately uphold the confirmation order.

The company did not make anyone available for an interview for this article.

By filing for Chapter 11 protection, Purdue consolidated thousands of lawsuits filed in recent years by local and state governments across the country, including Connecticut, that allege the company fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of OxyContin, a prescription opioid that is the company's top-selling drug. In addition, more than 135,000 claims on personal-injury forms have been filed against the company through the bankruptcy.

After about two years of bankruptcy proceedings, Purdues settlement plan last year garnered resounding support from voting creditors and then gained the backing of the presiding bankruptcy judge. But when Judge Robert Drain approved the settlement framework in September 2021, Connecticut and several other non-consenting states appealed the decision because they said the proposed terms including a payout of about $4.3 billion by the Sackler family members who own the company were unacceptable.

Because of the complex nature of the process, it takes a very long time especially with one thats so controversial and highly public such as this one, Robert Bird, a professor of business law at the University of Connecticut, said in an interview. This creates an environment where many disputed issues have to get resolved by the courts before money finally gets paid.

Tong and the other "non-consenting" states attorneys general were particularly critical of Drains approval of the plans stipulation for non-debtor releases that would have forced them to release their claims against the Sacklers. The Sacklers, who did not personally file for bankruptcy, have denied allegations from Tong and other attorneys general that they have misused the bankruptcy process to shield themselves from liability.

Last March, Connecticut and the other non-consenting states finally reached a settlement with Purdue and the Sacklers. Among the key terms, the Sacklers agreed to raise their contribution to the settlement to up to $6 billion.

I will never be happy with this process, Tong said. I did what I had to do in order to hold the Sacklers accountable and deliver as much value as I could for victims and for treatment, prevention and addiction science. But dont think for a second that Im pleased.

Even though no states are objecting anymore to a settlement, the plan cannot be implemented without additional court approval. Drains ruling was overturned last December by district judge Colleen McMahon. She agreed with the non-consenting states that the bankruptcy court lacked the authority to compel states to release their claims against the Sacklers.

Purdue appealed McMahons decision, but it still awaits a ruling on its appeal from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. If the Second Circuit finds that the bankruptcy court properly confirmed the settlement plan, Purdue officials anticipate it would take at least two to three months before the company emerges from bankruptcy.

While the delay due to the District Court decision was unfortunate, the fact that our creditors came together to form the value-maximizing plan that was confirmed by the bankruptcy court is remarkable and put our timing far ahead of where we would otherwise be, Purdue said in its statement. We believe so strongly in the vision for Knoa Pharma, that the wait will have been worth it when Knoa Pharma is able to flow billions of dollars in value to opioid abatement efforts where funds are urgently needed. (Knoa Pharma is the planned successor company to Purdue, an enterprise that would develop and distribute millions of doses of opioid-addiction treatment and overdose-reversal medicines, according to Purdues plan.)

If a party disagrees with the Second Circuits ruling, it could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.. Should the case end up in the Supreme Court, Tongs office has said that while Connecticut has agreed to settle, it reserves its right to continue its fight against non-consensual non-debtor releases.

Today, the Department of Justice, through its bankruptcy-focused U.S. Trustee program, stands as the most-prominent holdout among a tiny number of remaining opponents of the settlement plan. None of the 50 states, no local governments and none of the other hundreds of thousands of creditors are continuing to appeal our confirmation order, Purdue said in its statement.

A message left this week for the Justice Department was not returned. In a statement last December lauding McMahons ruling, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that, the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to deprive victims of the opioid crisis of their right to sue the Sackler family. The department remains committed to opioid abatement efforts and supporting victims of opioid abuse.

As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, Purdue pleaded guilty in November 2020 to three criminal charges of conspiring to defraud the government and violating anti-kickback law. At the same time, the Sacklers involved with Purdue agreed to a $225 million settlement with the department to resolve allegations of marketing and financial misconduct at Purdue. The Sacklers did not admit to any wrongdoing as part of that deal.

To the dismay of many, including Tong and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, the Justice Department did not criminally charge any individuals currently or previously involved with Purdue in connection with the companys guilty plea.

I am concerned, and Im going to put the question to DOJ about what is the basis for their continuing opposition to the settlement plan, Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who sued Purdue when he was state attorney general, said in an interview. They owe an explanation to the (opioid) victims, especially.

The lack of clarity about the bankruptcys end point troubles many relatives of opioid victims and survivors of opioid addiction. They are worried about further delays or even missing out entirely on the personal-injury funds that are included in the settlement plan. Eligible claimantswould each receive between $3,500 and $48,000 each, for a total of up to $750 million.

It seems like everyone was worried about getting the lawyers paid, and the states were worried about getting money into the states, Norwalk resident Dede Yoder, whose son died from an overdose of fentanyl and carfentanil at age 21 in 2017, after being prescribed OxyContin as a teenager, said in an interview But the actual victims of this whole thing, its like we werent even part of it. And yet, were the ones who its all about.

As Purdues bankruptcy drags on, funding from settlements with other companies implicated in the opioid epidemic are already flowing into the state. Those funds are urgently needed for treatment and prevention programs to tackle an unrelenting opioid crisis. Last year, there were 1,413 opioid-involved deaths in Connecticut, up 11 percent from 2020, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Among other settlements that Connecticut has joined, it will receive in the coming years about $300 million from pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen and drugmaker Johnson & Johnson; about $7.5 million from consulting firm McKinsey & Co., whose clients included Purdue; and nearly $14 million from drugmaker Mallinckrodt.

In addition, the state is in line to receive to-be-determined amounts from drugmakers Allergan, Endo and Teva, after announcements from Tong in the past couple of months that the state would join settlements with those companies.

People know that if they had a role in the opioid crisis that theyre in trouble, Tong said. Anybody who works for attorneys general or is prosecuting cases alongside us or defending cases against us knows that Connecticut is a leader in taking on the addiction industry and that we are very aggressive.

pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott

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Why OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is still in bankruptcy: 'There's been risk in this process all along' - CT Insider

CALABASAS, CA Some Regal movie theaters across the Southland will close later this month after the chain filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company said.

Cineworld Group has announced that it will be reorganizing the chain after the company filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Sept. 7.

The filing comes as the movie theater business continues to struggle in the post lockdown era of the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to an increase of in home-streaming service subscriptions.

Regal theaters which operates swaths of theaters throughout the Southland and also owns the Edwards and United Artists theaters has suffered a significant downturn in box office sales. Regal is the second-largest theater chain in the United States after AMC.

The motion allows the chain to reject its leases at the following properties:

Anaheim Hills - Closing Thursday, Sept. 22

Anaheim Hills 14, 8030 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim Hills

Irvine - Closing Thursday, Sept. 22

Westpark 8, 3735 Alton Parkway, Irvine

Calabasas - Closing Friday, Sept. 30

Calabasas Stadium 6, 4767 Commons Way, Calabasas

"The pandemic was an incredibly difficult time for our business, with the enforced closure of cinemas and huge disruption to film schedules that has led us to this point," Cineworld Chief Executive Mooky Greidinger wrote in a statement.

The company and its subsidiaries have commitments for an approximate $1.94 billion debtor-in-possession financing facility from existing lenders, which will help ensure Cineworlds operations continue as usual while it undergoes a reorganization.

Last month the British company said its theaters remained "open for business as usual" with vendors, suppliers and employee payment as it considered options for relief from its debt load.

Cineworld had built up $4.8 billion in net debt, not including lease liabilities. The company, which has about 28,000 employees, previously said that its admissions levels have recently been below expectations. And with a limited film slate, it expects the lower levels to continue until November. That would mean an additional crunch to its finances.

Cineworld said it expects to exit Chapter 11 during the first quarter of 2023.

In 2020, the company temporarily closed all 543 of its theaters in the United States amid continued revenue loss spurred by the pandemic.

"Without new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers in bot the U.S. and the U.K. ... with the breadth of strong commercial films necessary for them to consider coming back to theatres," the company said at the time.

Original post:

Regal Theaters To Close Calabasas Location Amid Bankruptcy Filing - Patch

Bankruptcy law may not sound like the sort of legal work that many aspirational lawyers would necessarily seek out as a way to achieve legal stardom, but for Kirkland & Ellis partner it is a combination of litigation and commerce that provides challenge and excitement for Christine Okike.

Christine Okike has recently managed a $1 billion restructuring deal along with a major Chapter 11 case for a transportation company as well as eliminated more than $1 billion in debt for a major information technology company, all of which lead to her being named as a Law360 MVP award winner.

But awards and recognition for the New York-based Kirkland & Ellis partner abound.

A graduate of Brown University and with a JD from Columbia Law School she has been named she was named as one of Crains New York Business 2021 Notable Women in Law, as well as an Emerging Leader by The M&A Advisor in 2019 and Outstanding Young Restructuring Lawyer by Turnarounds & Workouts in 2018.

In 2017, Christine was inducted into the International Insolvency InstituteNextGenLeadership Program, which recognizes the most prominent rising stars in the international insolvency area.

She also was selected in 2017 as an Emerging Leader in the American Bankruptcy Institutes inaugural 40 Under 40 initiative.

Most recently,Law360selected Christine as one of six Bankruptcy MVPs for 2022.Corporate Counselselected Christine as an honoree in the Collaborative Leadership category as part of the 2022 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards.The Dealalso selected Christine as one of its 2022 Top Women in Dealmaking.

She was also chosen byGlobal Restructuring Reviewin its 2022 40 Under 40 list of the worlds top young restructuring professionals andSavoyrecognized Christine as one of its 2022 Most Influential Black Lawyers.The New York Law Journalalso honored Christine in 2022 at its New York Legal Awards for Best Diversity Initiative.

But her career trajectory has become further elevated with her major work with Kirkland & Ellis where she has worked on multi-billion dollar restructuring deals and bankruptcy matters.

The appeal in this work has been her ability to apply both litigation and commercial and financial law skills to her work, which she finds dynamic and challenging.

People sometimes say that restructuring is the last bastion of a generalist, and I do think thats true, she told Law360.

I get to negotiate deals, but also advocate in the courtroom. I get to work with my colleagues in pretty much every other practice area. I get to learn about different companies and industries and try to come up with creative solutions to what are oftentimes really complex problems.

Helping to restructure debts, save jobs and assist companies to survive is also a powerful motivator in the work she does.

Dealing with literally thousands of stakeholders in restructuring deals means finding a middle ground and by doing so there is a consensus among everyone who are working towards achieving a common goal and permitting a company to survive and prosper.

Working to restructure Riverbed Technology for instance saw $1.1 billion in debt removed from the companys balance sheet, which was done over a 60 day period during the pandemic. The result was highly successful once more for the young bankruptcy/restructuring law star.

She also has some sage advice for younger lawyers who may be thinking about the sort of legal work she handles, or indeed any legal work.

Younger attorneys need to work hard and to persevere, she says. By remaining focused on your goals and remaining resilient is a key to achieving legal success.

I think resilience is really one of the most important qualities you can have for long-term success, Okike said. Particularly in the early years, it can be sort of like a roller coaster. There are highs and there are lows.

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The Bankruptcy Law Star And Why She Loves What She Does - Lawfuel

Date Time Action September 17, 2022 Scheduled ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 10, 2022 Scheduled ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 3, 2022 Scheduled ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 28, 2022 Scheduled PACER - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 4:00 am - 6:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to PACER expected. August 24, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:45 am - 7:45 am (MST). CM/ECF downtime expected only in ECF-Test. August 20, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 13, 2022 Completed ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 10, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (MST). No disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 6, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 3, 2022 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (MST). No disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 16, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 13, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 10, 2022 Completed PACER - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades est. window: 5:55 am - 4:30 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to PACER expected. July 9, 2022 Completed ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 6, 2022 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 2, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 18, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 11, 2022 Completed ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 4, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 21, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 14, 2022 Completed ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 7, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 30, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 4:00 am - 7:00 am (MST). Downtime and Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 22 and 25, 2022 Completed ECF-Test system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 9 - 12 am (MST) on 4/22 and all day on 4/25. Downtime and Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 16, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 9, 2022 Completed ECF-Train - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 2, 2022 Completed ECF-Test - scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 31, 2022 Completed ECF-Live - downtime expected in ECF-Live during maintenance window, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm (MST). March 19, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 12, 2022 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 10, 2022 Completed ECF-Test scheduled NextGen Software Upgrade, downtime expected during maintenance window, from 6:00 am (MST) Thursday March 10, 2022 through Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 6 pm (MST). Please use ECF-Train for any testing needs during this time. March 5, 2022 Completed ECF-Live and ECF Test - downtime expected in ECF-Live during maintenance window, from 3:00 am (MST) - 11:00 am (MST). February 26, 2022 Completed ECF-Live, ECF-Test, ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, downtime expected during extended maintenance window, from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). February 23, 2022 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:30 pm (MST) to 6:30 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 19, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 12, 2022 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 9, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (MST). February 5, 2022 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 2, 2022 Completed ECF-Train and ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (MST). January 22, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, CM/ECF downtime expected during regularly scheduled maintenance window from 6:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 20, 2022 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 18, 2022 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 15, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 8, 2022 Completed ECF-Live scheduled update to NextGen CM/ECF 1.6.2: CM/ECF downtime expected during regularly scheduled maintenance window from 6:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Also, ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected January 4, 2022 Completed ECF-Train scheduled update to NextGen CM/ECF 1.6.2 from 9-10:30 am MST: CM/ECF downtime or Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected January 1, 2022 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 19, 2021 Completed PACER scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 5:00 am - 1:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to PACER authentication for CM/ECF and possible Pay.gov delays expected. December 18, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 11, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 8, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 4, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 1, 2021 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 21, 2021 Completed PACER scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 4:55 am - 3:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to PACER authentication for CM/ECF and possible Pay.gov delays expected. November 20, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 13, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 6, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 16, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 9, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 2, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 25, 2021 Completed ECF-Test, ECF-Train and ECF-Live: scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades during regularly scheduled maintenance window, from 6:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF Test and Train expected. No disruption expected for ECF-Live. September 18, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 11, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 4, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 31, 2021 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 7:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 21, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 14, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 7, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 5, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). CM/ECF-TEST downtime expected during this maintenance window. July 17, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 10, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 8, 2021 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 am - 8:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 3, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 24-28, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled upgrade to NextGen CM/ECF 1.6.1: CM/ECF downtime expected from the afternoon of June 24 at 5:00 pm until 8:30 am (MST) on June 28. For more information, please see this announcement June 19, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 12, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 5, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled upgrade to NextGen CM/ECF 1.6.1 (Train): CM/ECF downtime expected from 4:00 am until 11:59 pm (MST) on June 5. For more information, please see this announcement. ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). May 22, 2021 Completed ECF-Live, ECF-Test and ECF-Train systems maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 6:00 am - 1:00 pm (MST). Downtime expected during maintenance window. May 15, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 8, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 1, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 17, 2021 Completed ECF-Live: scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance during our regularly scheduled maintenance window from 5:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 10, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 3, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 30, 2021 Completed ECF-Train system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 20, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 13, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 6, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 27, 2021 Completed ECF-Live upgrade to version 5.3.4 from 7:00 am - 12:00 pm (MST). Downtime expected during upgrade maintenance window. February 20, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 13, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 6, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 26 - 27, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance and updates from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm (MST) on both days January 21 - 22, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system upgrade to NG 1.6.1. Downtime expected from 1:00pm on January 21 until 6:00 pm (MST) on January 22 January 16, 2021 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 9, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 2, 2021 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 1, 2021 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 7:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 19, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 12, 2020 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 11, 2020 Completed ECF-Live, ECF-Train, ECF-Test: scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 5, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 3:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. ECF-Train and ECF-Live scheduled maintenance during standard maintenance window, from 5 - 9 am (MST). CM/ECF downtime expected in both the Live and Train systems during this time. December 1, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system update to NG 1.5.3 - CM/ECF downtime expected from 9:30 am - 11:30 am (MST). November 21, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 14, 2020 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 7, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 31, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades during standard maintenance window, from 5:00 - 9:00 am MST. CM/ECF downtime expected during this time. October 17, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 10, 2020 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 3, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF Test expected. ECF-Train and ECF-Live scheduled maintenance only during standard maintenance window, from 5 - 9 am MST. CM/ECF downtime expected in both the Live and Train systems during this time. Scheduled 19, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 17, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system upgrade to NG 1.5.2 - CM/ECF downtime expected from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (MST). September 12, 2020 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance, updates and/or upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 5, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 21-22, 2020 Completed ECF-Live upgrade to version 5.3.3: CM/ECF downtime expected from 12:00pm on August 21 until 11:59 pm (MST) on August 22. August 15, 2020 Completed ECF-Live scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 8, 2020 Completed ECF-Train scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 8, 2020 Completed ECF-Live and ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance during our regularly scheduled maintenance window from 5:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 6, 2020 Completed ECF-Live, ECF-Train, and ECF-Test - system maintenance and upgrades from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 1, 2020 Completed ECF-Test scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 18, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 17-18, 2020 Cancelled ECF-Live upgrade to version 5.3.3: CM/ECF downtime expected from 12:00pm on July 17 until 11:59 pm (MST) on July 18. July 11, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 5:00 am - 1:00 pm (MST). CM/ECF will be unavailable during this time. July 11, 2020 Completed ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF-Train expected. June 25-26, 2020 Completed ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades. CM/ECF downtime expected from 12:00 pm on June 25 until on or before 11:59 pm (MST) on June 26. June 20, 2020 Completed ECF-Live and ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 13, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 11-12, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades. CM/ECF will be unavailable from 7:00 am on June 11 until 7:00 pm (MST) on June 12. June 6, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 5:00 am - 9:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 6, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 3, 2020 Completed ECF-Test and ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (MST). No disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 16, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 9, 2020 Completed ECF-Train and ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 11:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 5, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected.. May 2, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected.. April 18, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 11, 2020 Completed ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. April 4, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00 am - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 27-30, 2020 Cancelled ECF-Train upgrade to NextGen 1.3 has been cancelled at this time. CM/ECF Train is no longer tentatively scheduled to be down and unavailable from 3/27 at 7:00am (MST) until 7:00am (MST) on 3/30. March 21, 2020 Completed ECF-Live Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 5:00 am - 2:00 pm (MST). Users may experience intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF. March 12, 2020 Cancelled ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm (MST). Users may experience intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF. March 10, 2020 Cancelled ECF-Train Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades. CM/ECF will be unavailable between 10:00am-2:00pm (MST). March 7 - 8, 2020 Completed ECF-Live, ECF-Test, ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 11:00 pm - 10:00 am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. March 4, 2020 Completed ECF-Test, ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm (MST). Users may experience intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF. February 22, 2020 Cancelled ECF-Live Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades. CM/ECF will be unavailable between 7:00am-10:00am (MST). February 21, 2020 Completed ECF-Train Scheduled system maintenance and upgrades from 2:00pm-4:00pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 18, 2020 Completed ECF-Live upgrade to version 5.2.3. CM/ECF will be unavailable between 8:00pm-12:00am (MST). February 15, 2020 Completed ECF-Live: Scheduled system maintenance between 7:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 15, 2020 Completed ECF-Train: Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00pm-7:00pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 13 - 19, 2020 Completed ECF-Test: Scheduled systems testing/maintenance - CM/ECF will be unavailable after 5pm on Thursday, February 13 at 5:00 pm (MST) until Wednesday, February 19, 2020. January 31, 2020 Completed ECF-Train upgrade to version 5.2.3. CM/ECF will be unavailable between 2:00pm-5:00pm (MST). January 18, 2020 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 21, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 6:00am-2:00pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 20, 2019 Completed Required system maintenance between 7:00pm-8:00pm (MST). CM/ECF will be unavailable during this time. November 16, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 26, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 19, 2019 Cancelled Scheduled system maintenance between 8:00am-1:00pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. August 17, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. July 20, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 29, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 7:30am-12:30pm (MST). CM/ECF Test not available during this time. June 15, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 13, 2019 Completed Required system maintenance between 6:00pm-7:00pm (MST). CM/ECF not available for electronic filing. June 13, 2019 Completed Required system maintenance between 8:00am-9:00am (MST). CM/ECF Test not available. May 18, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 6, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 5:00am-7:00am (MST). CM/ECF not available for electronic filing. April 25, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 7:00am-7:30am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF Test expected. March 16, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 16, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. February 2, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 8:00am-9:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. January 19, 2019 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 7:00am-3:00pm (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. December 15, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. November 27, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 7:00am-7:30am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. October 27, 2018 Completed ECF-Live upgrade to CM/ECF version 5.2.2. October 20, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 22, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 2:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. September 4, 2018 Completed ECF-Test upgrade to CM/ECF version 5.2.2. July 21, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 5:00am-9:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 8, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 6:00am-7:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. June 6, 2018 Cancelled Scheduled system maintenance between 6:00am-7:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected. May 22, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 9:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF-Train expected. May 22, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 9:00am-10:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF-Test expected. April 4, 2018 Completed ECF-Train upgrade to CM/ECF version 5.2.2. January 20, 2018 Completed Scheduled system maintenance between 3:00am-11:00am (MST). Intermittent disruptions in access to CM/ECF expected.

If you have CM/ECF procedural questions, please call (602) 682-4900.

Contact the MIS Department at (602) 682-4100 regarding any computer related questions.

See the original post:

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona

Families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims on Thursday claimed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones funneled millions of dollars to enrich himself from his company that has now filed for bankruptcy as the families attempt to seek damages through defamation suits.

The families filed a motion in a federal bankruptcy court in Houston asking the bankruptcy trustee to take control of Free Speech Systems (FSS), the parent company of far-right website Infowars owned by Jones, and appoint a tort claimants committee to represent the families and other creditors interests in collecting payment.

FSS filed for bankruptcy late last month as families of many of the victims of the shooting, which Jones has falsely claimed was a hoax, proceeded with multiple defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas seeking damages for the false claims.

So long as FSS possesses its assets and controls its operations, the Sandy Hook Families prospects of a full and fair recovery remain in jeopardy, the motion states.

The motion also included a family member of an individual who Jones falsely identified as the shooter in the Parkland massacre in February 2018. That individual passed away in a house fire in May.

The families attorneys said as the lawsuits were ongoing last summer, FSS conducted fraudulent transfers to PQPR Holdings Limited, an entity operated directly and indirectly by Jones and his parents.

Seventy-two percent of the transfers ultimately went to Jones, and the rest went to his parents, according to the motion.

Since the Sandy Hook Families filed their lawsuits, the debtor has systematically transferred millions of dollars to Alex Jones and his relatives and insider entities, the families attorneys wrote in the filing.

The motion also alleges Jones squeeze[d] FSS into bankruptcy procedures designed to provide additional protections for small-business debtors days before a Texas jury ordered Jones to pay millions in damages in a defamation case.

The jury in the defamation case, filed by the parents of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook, ordered Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages earlier this month to the parents and a further $4.1 million for the suffering he put them through by his false claims.

The order would have increased debts enough to prevent the company from leveraging the small-business protections, according to the motion.

FSSs conduct leading up to and since filing this bankruptcy reveals an out-of-control debtor that is still operated by Jones for the sole benefit of Jones, the motion states.

The Hill has reached out to Joness attorneys for comment.

Read this article:

Sandy Hook families say Alex Jones is hiding assets while claiming bankruptcy - The Hill

SsangYong Motor finally picked its preliminary bidder in June, and the KG Mobility consortium has been named. Now the South Korean automaker has gone under the KG Group after the Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved the rehabilitation plan it submitted earlier.

The court approval comes not long after SsangYong Motor's shareholders and creditors finally approved its restructuring scheme that has been rejected several weeks ago. It was noted that the go ahead signal was actually granted after a year and eight months since the automaker went into court receivership for a second time when Edison Motors failed to produce payment for its acquisition.

KG Group consortium stepped in to place its bid for the acquisition of SsangYong as it was placed back into the market after a failed deal with Edison Motors. As per Korea Joongang Daily, the consortium is composed of big firms such as KG Eco Technology Services (ETS), KG Mbilians, KG Steel, Cactus Private Equity, KG Inicis, and Pavilion Private Equity firm. KG Mobility is purely owned by KG ETS, an energy firm that is 47% owned by KG Chemical.

"The approval came with 95.04 percent of agreement from our creditors, and 100 percent from secured creditors and shareholders," the automaker stated after the courts approval of its rehabilitation scheme has been announced. "Now it allows SsangYong to gain a foothold to pave the way for normalization."

Pulse News reported that the KG Group-led consortium may offer an additional KRW30 billion, which will bring the value of the acquisition to more than KRW355.5 billion. The group is doing this to cover for SsangYong Motors overdue payment to creditors.

"I truly appreciate all who supported us for the plan to be approved," SsangYong Motors manager appointed by the court, Chung Yong Won, said. "We will exert all efforts to repay all to our creditors, stakeholders, and customers who believed us by making the company a sustainable one."

KG Chemicals chief executive officer, Kwak Jae Sun, further added, "It is with great pleasure that the court approves the rehabilitation plan and I sincerely appreciate all SsangYong employees who tried their best during the process. KG will fully support SsangYong for its business normalization and regain trust in the market."

Read this article:

SsangYongs rehabilitation plan earns the approval of the Seoul bankruptcy court - EconoTimes

Big energy firms are refusing to supply small businesses out of concern they could go bust, while some are demanding 10,000 upfront, business owners and industry experts have told the Guardian.

In the latest sign of the deepening energy crisis, business owners said they were struggling to find a supplier in the run-up to the busy October period for renewing gas and electricity contracts, leaving them facing extortionate bills or demands for a deposit.

Suppliers named as having refused service, or asked for a downpayment, include SSE, Scottish Power, E.On Next, Drax and Ecotricity.

Business owners called for urgent action from the government, warning that sectors such as hospitality, which is already struggling with inflation and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, are at particular risk.

Teresa Hodgson, landlord of the Green Man pub in Denham, near Uxbridge, was initially told by her supplier SSE that it could not give her a quote for energy because prices were increasing so fast. When I did pin them down, they said before we can go any further, we want a 10,000 deposit, Hodgson said.

When I asked why, because theyve never had an issue with me, they said: We dont think a lot of pubs are going to make it this year and we need security. There were other suppliers who just wouldnt entertain it at all because its hospitality, she added.

Unlike households, businesses typically buy energy in contracts that last several years, often via a specialist broker that connects them with suppliers for a quote. If they cannot find a fixed-rate contract, they move on to an out-of-contract deemed rate, which is uncapped and can soar in line with market prices.

Mark Dickinson, the chief executive of the energy broker Inspired, said some energy firms were only choosing to renew contracts with customers they already had, so theyre withdrawing from new business. [Others are] effectively saying they dont even want to renew current customers.

He said this was partly down to whipsawing prices in the wholesale energy markets, caused by the war in Ukraine, which have made it harder for suppliers to price long-term contracts. Where they are agreeing fixed-rate contracts, bills have gone up sixfold, in some cases.

Energy firms have also struggled to convince credit insurers to provide cover in case customers go bust, amid reluctance to insure under-pressure sectors, such as pubs. Instead, suppliers are managing their risk by asking for upfront bond payments, even from existing customers.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said one of its members had recently been turned down by five suppliers, a trend that threatens the survival of pubs. With many energy suppliers now refusing to provide contracts to pubs, they are being put in further jeopardy because a lack of competition in the market is forcing them to take on extortionate contracts or remain in punitive out-of-contract rates, said Emma McClarkin, the BBPAs chief executive.

She said: The market is failing the hospitality sector, and we need an energy price cap before this crisis forces pubs and other businesses across the country to close.

Gemma Holt, the owner of Lilys beauty salon in Whitchurch, Shropshire, said she had found it almost impossible to renew her energy contract. We thought we had found a new energy supplier, but the first one we tried wouldnt take us on because we are a hair and beauty business, and because of the energy usage, with the washing machine and tumble dryer going all the time.

William Robinson, whose Robinsons Brewery business is a landlord to more than 200 pub tenants, called for urgent action. If the government doesnt address this, the knock-on effect could be huge, he said. Them taking the summer off doesnt help us. The key thing is that it happens quickly, we cant have a period of paralysis.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said the government could not control energy prices but it had provided support worth 4.6bn over five years, including help for high energy usage businesses.

Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk

SSE said it asked for deposits on a case by case basis to mitigate risk and that the sums would be repaid at the end of a contract.

An E.ON spokesperson said: Like many other business energy suppliers, at certain highly volatile points we have had to pause offering contracts to new customers so we can focus on supporting existing customers through this challenging time while monitoring and responding to market risks.

A ScottishPower spokesperson said: Were continuing to offer energy supply contracts directly to both new and existing small business customers, and existing customers can also renew their contracts via their energy broker if they have appointed one.

Scottish Power and Ecotricity both said businesses were required to pass a credit check.

See the original post here:

Energy firms refusing to supply small UK businesses over bankruptcy fears - The Guardian

Venue Church in Chattanooga has filed for bankruptcy protection after most of the staff quit and attendance dropped following publicized reports last year of a relationship between the church's senior pastor, Tavner Smith, and another staff member.

The church's president and attorney say that Venue Church will work to pay off its debt and continue its mission.

The megachurchat 6401 Lee Highway, which was named one of the fastest growing churches in America by Outreach Magazine and LifeWay Research in 2015, filed a Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chattanooga on Tuesday to reorganize its finances under court protection. The bankruptcy filing will help stave off a foreclosure that was scheduled later this month on the nearly 47,000-square-foot building that houses the 7-year-old church.

In its bankruptcy filing, the church said its revenues dropped from more than $3.1 million in 2020 to just over $2 million last year and are on pace to be under $1 million this year.

Venue Church listed debts and other creditor claims of more than $3 million. But the church estimates its property is worth $4.5 million.

Tom Bible, a bankruptcy attorney who filed the bankruptcy petition for Venue Church, said in a telephone interview Wednesday that the church "intends to pay off all of its creditors in full" under bankruptcy court protection. That may involve selling the current church building, Bible said.

In a message to church members earlier this month, Smith said the church will survive with or without its current building.

"We've gone through a hard season...and we've fallen on hard times," Smith told the congregation in his message on Aug. 7. "It is a scary situation when you are navigating through things like this. But we know that God is not done with us."

Smith said "the church is not a building" and "Venue Church is a church no matter what."

Although attendance has dropped, Venue's Facebook and Instagram sites still have more than 25,000 followers.

Smith, Venue's charismatic lead pastor, is listed as president of the church. Smith helped start Venue Church in 2015 after he moved to Chattanooga from Greenville, South Carolina, and began hosting services in his living room for eight families. The church grew to regularly draw more than 1,500 people a week to all of its services.

But attendance has dropped in the past year. In December, several employees left the church over their concerns about Smith's alleged yearslong relationship with a Venue employee while he was still married. A video showed Smith kissing a woman while he was in the process of divorcing his now ex-wife, Danielle.

The fallout from the staff leaving, first reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, spurred sometimes mocking national and international media coverage, along with a flurry of online criticism as former church members discussed their experiences.

Smith, a father of three, announced in January he would take a sabbatical. Upon his return to his pastoral duties the next month, Smith apologized to his congregation with a tearful message.

"I've wounded people. I've caused devastation that I know I can't ever take back," he said. "As your leader and your pastor, I've come to you to publicly acknowledge my mistakes and truly ask for forgiveness."

The church closed its North Georgia campus in February.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340. Follow him on Twitter @dflessner1.

View original post here:

Chattanooga's Venue Church files for bankruptcy as leaders vow it will survive and pay off debts - Chattanooga Times Free Press

The Bankruptcy Amendment (Service of Documents) Regulations 2022 (New Regulations) came into effect on 6 April 2022, altering the requirements for the service of bankruptcy notices electronically.

Historically, the service of bankruptcy notices was governed by the Bankruptcy Regulations 1996 (Cth) (1996 Regulations). Regulation 16.01 of the 1996 Regulations stated that the methods of service included personal delivery, posting, courier or document exchange, or electronic mail. However, the 1996 Regulations were replaced by the Bankruptcy Regulations 2021 (Cth) (2021 Regulations) which whilst providing welcome amendments to sections of the legislation, made the process of distilling the correct procedural avenue for service an extremely convoluted one.

The 2021 Regulations required the reader to trawl through several pieces of legislation before finding the regulations governing electronic service. First, Section 102 of the 2021 Regulations stated that service may either be effected by courier or document exchange if the recipient uses one. It made no reference to service by any other means. A note directs the reader to section 28A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth).

Section 28A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) sets out that personal delivery and sending documents via pre-paid post to the persons residence or place of business can be used for service. It also then directs the reader to the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth). Under this Act, it is a requirement that electronic service would be consented to by the recipient before it could be considered effective service.

In addition to burying the requirements in a figurative babushka doll of legislation, the actual requirement itself of requiring consent from the recipient for electronic service is a problematic one. Many recipients are not going to want to have bankruptcy notices served upon them, effectively eliminating email as a method of service.

In the recent case of Pegios in his own capacity and as trustee for Pegios Superannuation Fund v Arambasic [2022] FedCFamC2G 17 it was held that service had not been properly effected because the recipient had not consented to service by email.

Furthermore, even if the recipient consents to the service retroactively, this is still inadequate to satisfy the service requirements. In Re Robert Henry Hanlin Ex Parte: South Properties Development Pty Ltd [1985] FCA 447, it was held that the need for strict compliance cannot be waived by the debtor. This is the case even though no damage or injustice may have resulted from the notice being served in this fashion.

Bankruptcy notices have always been the subject of rigorous adherence to strict rules. In Ciftci, M v Colquhoun A.J.G [1994] FCA 756, Einfield J said:

[in] many ways such a finding brings about a very unjust result, but the law relating to bankruptcy has always been susceptible not only to a degree of technicality, but to a high degree of strict application. [the] duty [is] to act in accordance with the law as presently understood, and this would not be the first case in which an apparently unjust result flowed from the application of the appropriate rules.

The need for strict compliance of service regulations is understandable given the gravity of bankruptcy proceedings. However the requirement for consent for electronic service is one that presents a significant administrative hurdle, particularly when you consider the ever increasing digitalisation of society. The New Regulations however now provide the welcome change that prior consent of the recipient is not required for electronic service. It should be noted that where service is effected electronically, the 21 day compliance period is usually calculated from the time of transmission rather than of actual receipt.

The New Regulations come into effect alongside the Insolvency Practice (Bankruptcy) Amendment Rules 2022 which make trustee registration requirements more flexible, introduce more efficiencies, transparency and certainty to creditor meetings and streamline provisions so they are consistent with similar in the Insolvency Practice Rules (Corporations) 2016.

See more here:

The Evolution of Electronic Service of Bankruptcy Notices - Lexology

I still remember the blissful winter of 2018 as a MoviePass cardholder.

I joined in on the chaos at the end of January, jumping on the bandwagon to see one movie a day for merely $9.95 a month. I wasnt much of a theater-goer at the time. After all, movies in New York City, where I was living at the time, could run around $25 a pop. But soon, it became routine to put off my mile-long trudge back home through the snow with a warm detour to see Call Me By Your Name, The Post, Black Panther, or Isle of Dogs.

Instead of gathering over drinks or dinner, my friends and I started revolving our plans around movie showingstypically saving a chunk of cash in the process. Of course, this new routine wouldnt last long. About 3 million people were only paying $9.95 a monthand I, for one, was seeing about four or five movies in that window.

By July, MoviePass said it was removing certain titles, such as Mission: Impossible Fallout as an option while it adjusted its business model. By August, my subscription had updated to only allow three movies a month, and they werent really offering any movies I wanted to see anymore. That was around the time I threw in the towel.

But now, MoviePass is backthis time reportedly with tiered pricing options and in-app credits for friends and family tickets that can be earned by watching ads. A new MoviePass website is running down a countdown clock for an invite-only beta version with a waitlist that opens in two days. Yesterday, the company blasted an email to old customers, one of which was seen by Fortune, announcing that its back in business. Stacy Spikes, one of MoviePasss co-founders says he bought back the assets of the company and is re-launching itthis time, without private equity dollars.

So many of you have called, emailed and even stopped me on the street to show that you still had your original MoviePass card and talk about how much you loved the service, Spikes wrote in the email. A MoviePass spokesperson hadnt responded to an immediate request for comment before publication.

Earlier this year, Time Magazine published a story outlining what had gone wrong and warning that the movie-going subscription company was going to try for a redo. In the Time interview, Spikes laid out why he thinks MoviePass 2.0 has a shot given COVID-induced empty movie theaters and detailed how he had allegedly been ignored when he pushed back against the $9.95 business plan put forth by Helios and Matheson, the company that had bought a majority stake in MoviePass in 2017 and later filed for bankruptcy.

MoviePass had originated as a venture-backed idea. Spikes and his co-founder Hamet Watt had raised $1 million for the initial idea back in 2011 from AOL and True Ventures. But when former Netflix exec Mitch Lowe came on board as CEO in 2016, Time reports the company was losing around $50,000-$110,000 per month and was struggling to pick up traction from investors. Spikes, who is Black, blames that in part on racial discrimination.

It was Helios and Matheson, which acquired a majority stake in the company in 2017, that introduced the $9.95 promotion. When it blew up in popularity, the company allegedly ignored Spikes requests to bring the price back up, even though it was costing big bucksapparently somewhere between $17-30 a subscriber per month. At the end of 2017, Spikes was allegedly removed from the board and was informed he was no longer needed at the company the following month. By the end of 2019, MoviePass had shut down.

Spikes is writing a memoir that will be out in coming months, Black Founder: The Hidden Power of Being an Outsider. But his re-envisiong of MoviePass starts Labor Day weekend, when the new iteration of the MoviePass product will first become available.

This time around, MoviePass is facing competitors that stepped in when MoviePass was trickling off the scene, including AMC, which launched its A-List membership in mid-2018, where subscribers can pay $19.95 a month to see up to three movies a week. It will be interesting to see how MoviePass new model holds up.

One thing is clear: Spikes doesnt seem like someone who gives up easily.

See you tomorrow,

Jessica MathewsTwitter: @jessicakmathewsEmail: jessica.mathews@fortune.comSubmit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.

Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of todays newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

- Tamara, a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based payments platform for the Middle East, raised $100 million in Series B funding. Sanabil Investments led the round and was joined by investors including Coatue, Shorooq Partners, Endeavor Catalyst, and Checkout.com.

- PeakData, a Zug, Switzerland-based data analysis software platform for pharmaceutical companies and health care workers, raised 12.1 million ($12.03 million) in Series A funding. AlbionVC led the round and was joined by inventors including Octopus Ventures and Heal Capital.

- Worldfavor, a Stockholm-based sustainability platform, raised 10.2 million ($10.14 million) in Series A funding. SEB Private Equity led the round and was joined by investors including Brightly Ventures and Spintop Ventures.

- ModernLoop, a San Francisco-based recruiting operations platform, raised $9 million in Series A funding. Accel led the round and was joined by investors including Web Investment, Quiet Capital, and other angels.

- Violet Labs, a San Francisco-based cloud-based software integration platform for hardware engineering, raised $4 million in seed funding. Space Capital led the round and was joined by investors including MaC Venture Capital, Felicis, V1.VC, and other angels.

- dPRIME Asset Modules Finance, a Miami-based protocol for creating purchasing power across portfolios, raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding led by Digital Finance Group and Jsquare.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Kinderhook agreed to acquire Tank and Pump, a Baytown, Texas-based environmental solutions firm, for $323 million.

- Arsenal Capital Partners acquired Innovative Products & Equipment, a Hudson, N.H.-based provider of automation and product & process development solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Guidehouse, a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, agreed to acquire the public sector advisory practice of Grant Thornton, a Chicago-based audit, tax, and advisory firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Prescotts, a portfolio company of Atlantic Street Capital, acquired Heartland Medical Sales & Service, a Louisville, Ky.-based service, repair, refurbishment, and sales of anesthesia machines and related equipment. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Tencarva Machinery Company, backed by Bessemer Investors, acquired Fischer Process Industries, a Loveland, Ohio-based pumps, valves, and process equipment servicing distributor. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

- SSI Diagnostica, a portfolio company of Adelis Equity, acquired TechLab, a Blacksburg, Va.-based diagnostic tests developer for infectious disease, intestinal inflammation, and parasitology, from its portfolio company Pharos Capital Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Thrive Foods acquired Freeze-Dry Foods, an Albion, N.Y.-based freeze-dried foods company, from Cumming Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.

OTHER

- Kinaxis acquired MPO, a Rotterdam, Netherlands-based SaaS platform for multi-party orchestration, for approximately $45 million.

- DigitalOcean Holdings agreed to acquire Cloudways, a Saint Julians, Malta-based managed cloud hosting and SaaS provider for SMBs. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Firmament acquired a majority stake in Panacea Healthcare Solutions, a St. Paul, Minn.-based software and consulting services provider to health care companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Lukoil acquired Spartak Moscow, a Moscow-based soccer team. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Productive Technologies Company acquired the China solar business of RENA, a Gtenbach, Germany-based wet-chemical surface treatment company. RENA is a portfolio company of Equistone Partners Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

PEOPLE

- GTCR, a Chicago-based private equity firm, hired Jodi Rubenstein as managing director, investor relations. Formerly, she was with Goldman Sachs.

- One Rock Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, hired Phil Gaudreau as an operating partner. Formerly, he was with Armstrong Flooring.

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MoviePass co-founder bought back its assets after a bankruptcy auction. Now hes back for a second run - Fortune