 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | WSJ Pro Bankruptcy: Purdue’s Sacklers Back New Bankruptcy Settlement for Opioid Lawsuits
Purdue Pharma’s Sackler family owners are offering to increase their financial contribution to a bankruptcy settlement of opioid lawsuits while accepting some exposure to future litigation, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Certain members of the Sackler family who own Purdue have agreed to boost their total contribution to roughly $6.5 billion over time, according to sources, up from $6 billion under a previous plan that was rejected last year by the Supreme Court. | | | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Private Hospital Owner Prospect Medical Files for Bankruptcy
Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., once an active buyer of cash-strapped hospitals, filed for bankruptcy after struggling with debt piles and soaring costs, Bloomberg News reported. The company listed $1 billion to $10 billion in assets and liabilities each, along with more than 100,000 creditors, in a bankruptcy petition filed in Texas on Saturday. Prospect Medical, which provides services in places including Southern California, Connecticut and New Jersey, manages networks of more than 11,000 doctors and operates more 16 hospitals, according to its website. | | Sale of Alex Jones' Infowars to Return to Houston Court Following Rejected Bankruptcy Auction
The future of conspiracy website Infowars will once again be up for discussion inside a Houston courtroom today, the Houston Chronicle reported. Attorneys representing Infowars founder Alex Jones, satirical news site the Onion, victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, and others are expected to be back in court to discuss where the site's sale goes next. The hearing comes a month after Bankruptcy Judge <>Christopher Lopez rejected the results of an auction that would have given control of the website and its assets to The Onion. | | Supreme Court to Review Decision on Student Borrower Defense Case
The Supreme Court will review a decision from a lower court that blocked a Biden administration rule that made it easier for student loan borrowers who had been defrauded by their colleges to have their loans forgiven, Politico reported. As of April, the Biden administration has forgiven more than $17 billion from student loan borrowers who have been defrauded by their colleges under what’s called the borrower defense rule, which has been in effect since 1994 and rewritten in 2016, 2019 and 2022. The 2022 rewrite by the Biden administration was meant to clarify the grounds on which a claim could be filed and went into effect in 2023. MORE NEWS BELOW | | |  | | Upcoming Events | | | | | ABI Consumer Practice Extravaganza | Part 2 January 21-24 | Online Conference | | ABI International Caribbean Insolvency SymposiumThe Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa
January 23-25 | Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Retailer Joann Considers Second Bankruptcy Filing in a Year
Joann Inc., the fabric and crafts retailer that emerged from chapter 11 less than a year ago, is considering filing for bankruptcy again as it runs out of cash, Bloomberg News reported. A recent request by lenders that Joann set aside reserves to cover their losses in the event of a bankruptcy, as well as a low reappraisal of its inventory, are among factors that have Joann mulling another filing. | | Liquidnet Pays $5 Million Fine to Settle SEC Charges over Controls, Confidentiality
Liquidnet agreed to pay a $5 million civil fine to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the broker-dealer lacked necessary controls regarding market access, and failed to protect confidential subscriber trading information, Reuters reported. The SEC said on Friday that Liquidnet violated a rule governing alternative trading systems operators by setting inappropriate credit thresholds for customers, including by having a default of $1 billion. | | Consumer Inflation Expectations Jump to Highest Since 2008
U.S. consumers’ long-term inflation expectations jumped to the highest since 2008 on concerns about potential tariffs from the incoming Trump administration, Bloomberg News reported. Americans expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 3.3% over the next five to 10 years, up from the 3% expected last month, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary January survey released Friday. They also see costs rising 3.3% over the next year, up 0.5 percentage point from December. | | December Jobs Report Shows Unemployment Fell to 4.1%, 256,000 Jobs Added to Finish 2024 on High Note
The U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast in December while the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, YahooFinance.com reported. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday showed 256,000 new jobs were created in December, far more than the 165,000 expected by economists and higher than the 212,000 seen in November. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2% in November. | | Matthew W. Cheney Appointed as Acting U.S. Trustee for Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia
Matthew W. Cheney has been appointed by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland as the Acting U.S. Trustee for Maryland, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia (Region 4) effective Jan. 11. Cheney replaces Gerard R. Vetter, who continues to serve as the Assistant U.S. Trustee for the Baltimore office of the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP). | | Preliminary-Round Brief Graders and Judges Needed for the Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition!
The Duberstein National Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, now in its 33rd year and widely recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent moot court competitions, will be held in New York March 1-3, 2025. Fifty-three teams from law schools across the country will compete through written briefings and oral argument. Please find the fact pattern by clicking here. Volunteers are needed to grade briefs (sign up here) and to judge the preliminary rounds (please sign up here) of the competition. Click here for more information and to volunteer. | | | | |
