 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | ABI Journal: Contingency and Hybrid Fee Arrangements in Bankruptcy
Contingency fee arrangements, where attorneys are paid a percentage of the recovery only if the case is successful, and hybrid fee agreements, where the attorney is paid a reduced hourly rate or fixed rate, but accepts an “upside” on contingency, are not new to the legal industry. However, such alternative fee arrangements are not common in bankruptcy, possibly due to the limitations imposed by the Bankruptcy Code and the ethical fee implications of such fee structures, according to an analysis in the ABI Journal. 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 | | | | | China State Construction’s U.S. Unit Faces Fraud Probe Call
A creditor to an overseas arm of China’s largest construction company is asking a U.S. bankruptcy court to help investigate whether the firm may have committed fraud, Bloomberg News reported. The largest unsecured creditor in the China Construction America Inc. case, BML Properties Ltd., wants the court to appoint an examiner to look for potential fraud and misconduct, according to a motion filed on Thursday. The request comes after CCA in October was ordered to pay $1.6 billion to BML, the developer of the long-delayed Baha Mar casino resort in the Bahamas. READ MORE | | Former Golden Pass LNG Contractor to Emerge from Bankruptcy by April
The Texas construction contractor that last year quit the Golden Pass liquefied natural gas plant project, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil could exit chapter 11 bankruptcy before April, the company said on Friday, Reuters reported. Zachry Holdings said that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on Friday approved its reorganization plan, paving the way for it complete the process no later than the end of March. READ MORE | | Container Store Cleared to Exit Bankruptcy in Take-Private Deal
The Container Store won court approval to exit bankruptcy a little more than a month after filing chapter 11 and to enact a lender-backed plan to cut its debt and provide the retailer with fresh capital to withstand the post-pandemic sales lull, Bloomberg News reported. Judge Alfredo Perez in Texas said on Friday that he would confirm the retail chain’s restructuring plan, which would take the business private by exchanging lender debt for the company’s equity. The restructuring cuts about $88 million in long-term debt and provides Container Store with $40 million in fresh cash, according to court documents. READ MORE
MORE NEWS BELOW | | |  | | Upcoming Events | | | | | Alexander L. Paskay Memorial Bankruptcy Seminar Tampa Marriott Water Street
February 27-28 | Tampa, Fla. | | Amending Bankruptcy Rule 9031: Recent Efforts to Expand Bankruptcy Judges’ Toolboxes abiLIVE Webinar
March 3 | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Yellow Bankruptcy Proceeds, But Legal, Financial Roadblocks Loom
Yellow Corp.’s bankruptcy is in the home stretch, but multimillion-dollar bumps — even a multibillion-dollar ditch — lie ahead in the coming weeks for the former trucking carrier, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. Yellow submitted a liquidation plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware at the end of November and sent out informational packets to claimants asking them to vote for or against it by a deadline of Feb. 11. The court’s docket includes a confirmation hearing on the company’s liquidation plan set for Feb. 24. (Subscription required.) READ MORE | | THORChain Pauses Bitcoin, Ether Lending Amid Insolvency Risks
THORChain, a decentralized crosschain liquidity protocol, has temporarily suspended its lending and savers programs for Bitcoin and Ether, CoinTelegraph.com reported. The decision, approved by network node operators on Jan. 23, aimed to prevent an insolvency crisis and restructure the protocol’s debts. READ MORE | | Tijuana Flats Exits Bankruptcy with Menu Innovation Plans
Tijuana Flats, a fast casual brand with 100 company- and franchised-owned units, has completed its chapter 11 restructuring process after filing for bankruptcy last year, Restaurant Dive reported. The chain has reduced its debt load, improved its profitability and increased its operational efficiency, according to a company press release. READ MORE | | Chicago Schools Take $400 Million Advance From Revolving Credit
The Chicago Board of Education tapped $400 million from its short-term revolving credit agreements with Bank of America and PNC Bank, Bloomberg News reported. It comes as the fourth-largest U.S. public school district faces escalating fiscal pressures with federal pandemic aid coming to an end, underfunded pensions and rising labor costs. READ MORE | | U.S. Business Activity Slows to a Nine-Month Low in January; Hiring Accelerates
U.S. business activity slowed to a ninth-month low in January amid rising price pressures, but firms reported boosting hiring, supporting the Federal Reserve's cautious approach to cutting interest rates this year, Reuters reported. S&P Global said on Friday that its flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, declined to 52.4 this month. That was the lowest level since April and was down from 55.4 in December. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the private sector. READ MORE | | Preliminary-Round 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 judge the preliminary rounds (sign up here) of the competition. Click here for more information and to volunteer. | | | | |
