 | | Featured Premium Content | | | | | [ABI Journal]: Equitable Mootness: Has the Scalpel Become an Axe?
It has been said that “[i] n bankruptcy, mootness comes in a variety of flavors: constitutional, equitable, and statutory.” The U.S. Supreme Court has already engaged with a source of statutory mootness, § 363(m). Now, equitable mootness has come under increased scrutiny, as demonstrated by In re Serta Simmons Bedding LLC. This article evaluates the current state of equitable mootness through a survey of important decisions across several circuits and recent Supreme Court comments on mootness doctrines. READ MORE | | ABI@NCBJ
ABI is honored to be hosting a reception at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, at NCBJ in Chicago, as well as educational sessions on Friday, Sept. 19. To register for the conference, please click here. At NCBJ, ABI also will be handing out the 2025 Judge William L. Norton Jr. Judicial Excellence Award. Nominations for that award will be accepted until July 15, 2025, and can be emailed to arin.berkson@thomsonreuters.com. | | | | |  | | Editor's Picks | | | | | Weak May U.S. Retail Sales, Manufacturing Output Point to Softening Economy
U.S. retail sales dropped more than expected in May, weighed down by a decline in motor vehicle purchases as a rush to beat potential tariff-related price hikes ebbed, but consumer spending remains supported by solid wage growth for now, Reuters reported. The largest decline in sales in four months reported by the Commerce Department added to moderate job growth last month, suggesting that domestic demand was softening. That was reinforced by other data showing production at factories, outside motor vehicle assembly, decreased in May. President Donald Trump's aggressive and often shifting tariff position has heightened economic uncertainty, making it difficult for businesses to plan ahead. (Subscription required to view article.) READ MORE | | Anne Wojcicki’s Bid to Buy Back 23andMe May Not End Legal Fight over DNA Customer Data
Anne Wojcicki's winning bid to reclaim control of 23andMe doesn't necessarily end the fight over what happens to the DNA of 15 million people collected by the bankrupt consumer genomics company, Yahoo Finance reported. A nonprofit controlled by Wojcicki, TTAM Research Institute, has outbid large-cap drugmaker Regeneron amid mounting opposition to a proposed sale. Wojcicki was the co-founder and former CEO of 23andMe. A hearing to discuss approval of the purchase is set for today. READ MORE | | Consumer Sentiment Rises for First Time This Year as Inflation Remains Tame
Consumer sentiment increased in June for the first time in six months, the latest sign that Americans’ views of the economy have improved as inflation has stayed tame and the Trump administration has reached a truce in its trade fight with China, the Associated Press reported. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s closely watched consumer sentiment index jump from 52.2% to 60.5. The large increase followed steady drops that left the preliminary number last month at the second-lowest level in the nearly 75-year history of the survey. Consumer sentiment is still down 20% compared with December 2024. READ MORE
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July 26 | Amelia Island, Fla. | | | | | | |  | | Daily Roundup | | | | | Sunnova Bankruptcy Adds to Puerto Rico Residents’ Energy Woes
After Hurricane María ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, knocking out power to the entire island, Gabriel Rodríguez Acevedo’s parents turned to solar company Sunnova Energy International Inc. seeking an alternative to long supply lines and noisy gas-powered generators, Bloomberg reported. When the company filed for chapter 11 on June 8, Rodríguez Acevedo worried about the 25-year warranty, uncertain whether installer Power Solar or financier Sunnova would handle repairs, and if his retired parents would face out-of-pocket costs. Battered by blackouts and high energy costs, Puerto Ricans have adopted solar at some of the fastest rates of any U.S. jurisdiction. Many fear that Sunnova’s default threatens what they saw as a reliable solution to power outages and rising energy rates. (Subscription required to view article.) READ MORE | | Commentary: The Genius Act Will Bring Economic Chaos*
The growing value of cryptocurrency is resurrecting one of the most notorious features of the Wild West, according to commentary from Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, that was published in the New York Times. Just as stagecoach drivers of the 19th century were ambushed by gold-seeking, gun-toting bandits, crypto holders and their families are increasingly finding themselves victims of violent kidnappings. If Donald Trump and his allies have their way in Congress, America could soon see a resurgence of other features of that turbulent century, when bank failures, personal bankruptcies and financial instability also occurred regularly. What would unleash this chaos is a piece of legislation known as the Genius Act. (Subscription required to view article.) READ MORE
* The views expressed in this commentary are from the author/publication cited, are meant for informative purposes only, and are not an official position of ABI. | | Chicagoland Trucking Firm Files for Bankruptcy Following Railroad Suit
Illinois transportation firm Nortia Logistics — which allegedly defaulted on repaying Union Pacific Railroad for freight services — has filed for chapter 11, Trucking Dive reported. Union Pacific sued Nortia in May and alleged that the asset-based business lapsed in repaying a $3.6 million promissory note, representing freight debt from Dec. 6, 2023, through May 6, 2024. The Chicagoland business also owes more than $1.3 million in lease terminations, among other unsecured claims. Nortia has around $1.4 million in estimated assets and nearly $5.8 million in liabilities. READ MORE | | WeightWatchers to Exit Process to Cut $1.15 Billion Debt Next Week
WW International, formerly known as WeightWatchers, is on track to exit its financial reorganization to cut $1.15 billion in debt next week as part of its bankruptcy process, Reuters reported. WeightWatchers filed for chapter 11 protection last month in a bid to cut its debt after hugely popular obesity drugs upended its business model. The company offers nutrition and behavior-change programs for weight loss and also bought subscription-based telehealth platform Sequence in 2023 to expand into obesity drug prescriptions. WeightWatchers began as a weekly weight-loss support group meeting with 400 attendees, and quickly turned into a worldwide phenomenon with millions of members. (Subscription required to view article.) READ MORE | | Hooters, Junior Creditors Reach $4.5 Million Deal in Bankruptcy
Hooters of America LLC reached a $4.5 million global settlement with creditors that weren’t expected to recover anything under the casual dining chain’s bankruptcy plan, Bloomberg Law reported. The deal includes $3 million allocated to creditors and $1.5 million for professional fees and expenses, an attorney representing a committee of unsecured creditors said during a Tuesday hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. There will be $125,000 in initial funding deposited into a litigation trust, including Hooters’ unsecured assets, said Judith Elkin of Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones LLP. Unsecured and secured creditors are each allocated 37.5% of those funds, with the majority of the remaining funds going to the priority lenders, Elkin said. READ MORE | | Another of Mohamed Hadid’s Failed Mansion Projects Heads to Auction Block — a Year After Developer Filed for Bankruptcy
The developer father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid will see another of his beleaguered mansion projects put up for auction later this year — just weeks after it was announced that his so-called "Starship Enterprise" property in Bel-Air was set to go under the hammer, Realtor.com reported. Mohamed Hadid has built some of Los Angeles' and Beverly Hills' most opulent properties; however, his yearslong run as a leader in the industry has hit a hefty hurdle amid stalled construction, ongoing legal woes and bankruptcy filings. Now, one of his unfinished projects in Beverly Hills will be sold off to the highest bidder, just over one year after the limited liability company through which Hadid financed the construction filed for chapter 11, claiming that it had been the victim of "predatory lending." READ MORE | | Embattled Lexington Company Files for Bankruptcy
A roofing company owes more than $3.2 million to former customers and employees, as well as the Kentucky Labor Cabinet and federal officials, WKYT reported. Owner of Lexington Blue, Brad Pagel, filed for chapter 11 protection. Pagel is also facing a lawsuit from the state Attorney General’s office, which led to a court order to freeze his assets and force him to cease all business. In recent weeks, Lexington Blue has been under scrutiny, with several homeowners saying that they paid the company for repairs that were never completed and employees saying the business operated as a cult and encouraged them to commit fraud. READ MORE | | | | |
