 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | ABI Journal: Why Might Farmers Be Choosing Subchapter V?
Farm bankruptcy filings under chapter 12 have been declining over the last several years. However, the numbers also suggest that more farmers might be seeking subchapter V relief, thus lowering the numbers for chapter 12. A comparison in the ABI Journal of the costs and benefits of these two forms of relief reveals some good reasons as to why some farmers are among the small businesses taking advantage of subchapter V. READ MORE | | | SPONSORED CONTENTPrivate Credit and BSL: Peaceful CoexistenceAs private credit continues to expand, it maintains a relatively peaceful coexistence with broadly syndicated loans. SRS Acquiom offers insights into the current state of the lending landscape, as anchored by two viable sources of financing. GET THE INSIGHTS | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | EV Startup Canoo Files for Bankruptcy, to Cease Operations
Canoo said on Friday it would file for chapter 7 bankruptcy and cease operations, effective immediately, Reuters reported. The EV startup has been dealing with rapid cash burn and has struggled to raise additional funding amid uncertain demand for its microbus-inspired cargo vans. READ MORE | | U.S. Trustee Program Appoints 35 Private Trustees in 2024
In 2024, 35 private trustees were appointed by the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) to serve in cases under chapters 7, 12, and 13 in regions throughout the country. For a full list of private trustees, please visit the USTP’s website by clicking here. | | Alacrity’s Private Debt Deemed Safe Months Before Restructuring
At the end of June, Alacrity Solutions’ debt looked like a solid bet, at least according to the prices assigned to it by lenders, a group that included Blue Owl Capital Inc., Antares Capital and KKR & Co., Bloomberg News reported. Cut to late October and, with little warning, the insurance claims manager was headed into full-scale restructuring talks. A rapid deterioration in earnings was blamed as weather-related claims dwindled and more insurers brought adjusting services in-house. READ MORE
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 | | | | | Former NASCAR Team Owner Hit with $31 Million Fine in Bankruptcy Fallout
A federal appeals court has upheld a $31 million judgment against former NASCAR team owner Ronald Devine and his associates for what judges called a "pattern of bad faith" during bankruptcy proceedings of his former race team, BK Racing, WCNC.com reported. The ruling, issued on Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, comes as Devine faces federal criminal charges for allegedly failing to pay employee payroll taxes. READ MORE | | Fluidfreeride E-scooters Shutters San Francisco Store, Files for Bankruptcy
A Miami-based electric scooter company, Fluidfreeride, recently closed its only San Francisco store after filing for chapter 11 protection late last year, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Fluidfreeride opened its store at in 2022 as its first West Coast outlet, providing in-person retail service and scooter repairs with access to the East and South Bay. The San Francisco store shut down without warning to Fluidfreeride customers on social media or via email. READ MORE | | CFPB Fines Equifax $15 Million over Handling of Consumer Disputes
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Friday it had fined credit reporting bureau Equifax $15 million for failing to sufficiently investigate consumer disputes of its credit reports, Reuters reported. The CFPB said that Equifax ignored consumer documents and evidence submitted alongside disputes, allowed previously flagged inaccuracies to return to credit reports, and relied on flawed software code, leading to inaccurate credit scores. READ MORE | | Trump Promises Tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and Paves Way for Further Trade Action
President Trump said on Monday night that he planned to impose a 25 percent tariff on products from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 and might impose levies on most American imports, as he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to deliver a sweeping review of U.S. trade policies by this spring, the New York Times reported. Trump said he was thinking of putting tariffs on Mexican and Canadian products because those nations were allowing “mass numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in.” Asked when he might put those in place, Mr. Trump said, “I think we’ll do it Feb. 1.” READ MORE | | CFPB Orders Honda Unit to Pay $12.8 Million for Harming Drivers' Credit Reports
Honda's (HMC) U.S. financing arm was ordered on Friday by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to pay $12.8 million for reporting inaccurate information that affected the credit reports of 300,000 drivers of Honda and Acura vehicles, Reuters reported. The CFPB said that American Honda Finance deferred some drivers' loan payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, only to then tell credit reporting agencies that the drivers were delinquent when they should have been reported as current. READ MORE | | U.S. Manufacturing Output Accelerates in December
U.S. manufacturing output surged in December likely as production at Boeing picked up following the end of a crippling strike by factory workers at the aerospace giant, Reuters reported. Factory output increased 0.6% last month after an upwardly revised 0.4% rebound in November, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast production rising 0.2% after a previously reported 0.2% gain. READ MORE | | Wells Fargo Firms, Merrill Lynch to Pay $60 Million to Settle SEC Charges
Merrill Lynch and two Wells Fargo advisory firms have agreed to pay a combined $60 million in civil penalties to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges over compliance failures, the regulator said on Friday, Reuters reported. According to the SEC, Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch firms failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures to consider the best interests of their clients in connection with their cash sweep programs, thus failing in their obligations to prevent violations of securities law and rules. READ MORE | | Former Utility Executives Are Indicted in an Ohio Bribery Scheme
A former CEO and one of his top executives with an Ohio energy company at the center of a $60 million bribery scheme have been indicted on racketeering charges, federal prosecutors announced Friday, the Associated Press reported. The former FirstEnergy Corp. executives — ex-CEO Chuck Jones and Senior Vice President Michael Dowling — were accused of taking part in an enterprise to bribe state officials and secure a $1 billion bailout of the company’s nuclear plants. READ MORE | | 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 (sign up here) of the competition. Click here for more information and to volunteer. | | | | |
