November 62000

Third Circuit Finds Potential Candidate for
Judgeship

The U.S. Court of Appeals is considering Kevin J. Carey for possible
appointment to the bankruptcy judgeship in the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania, according to a Third Circuit release.  The Third
Circuit is soliciting written comments concerning Carey’s
qualifications for the position.  Comments will be accepted until
Dec. 1 and should be addressed to: Circuit Executive, 22409 U.S.
Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1721.

American Quantum to File Chapter 11

Motorcycle maker American Quantum Cycles Inc. said Friday that it
could not pay off its $10 million in debt, lacks the cash to continue
its normal operations and expects to file for chapter 11, according to a
Reuters report.  The company said its three biggest creditors
petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Orlando, Fla., last Friday to
push the company involuntarily into a chapter 11 filing. American
Quantum said it expects to agree to the petition, adding that it has
arranged a financing package that requires court approval and will ask
the court to for control of its assets while it reorganizes.

American Quantum said a hearing on the proposed financing package is
scheduled for tomorrow.  Under the plan, American Quantum said that
all creditors and stock holders will be allowed to invest in the
financing package at the same $1 per share as the creditors who arranged
the package.  Company spokespersons said they hope to raise between
$500,000 and $1.5 by next week, adding that creditors have agreed
conditionally to provide the minimum investment.

Money's Foods U.S. Files Chapter 11

Money's Mushrooms Ltd. announced Thursday that its U.S. operation,
Money's Foods U.S. Inc, is seeking court protection under chapter 11 of
the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, according to a newswire report. The filing was
made in the District of Delaware. This action does not affect the
Canadian company's operations, Money's Mushrooms Ltd.  The Bank of
Nova Scotia will provide debtor-in-possession financing to enable
continued operation of the company during the chapter 11 process. 
Money's Mushrooms Ltd., based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, is a
North American producer and marketer of fresh mushrooms and mushroom
products.

National Energy Group Inc. Reports Compliance With Reorganization
Plan

National Energy Group Inc. (NEGI) Friday announced that is had
issued 4.6 million shares of its common stock to Arnos Corp., which is
also the holder of the company's $25 million secured debt and $165
million in notes, according to a newswire report.  The U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas confirmed the
plan.  National Energy Group Inc. is a Dallas-based independent oil
and gas exploration and production company.

Creditors Drop Involuntary Bankruptcy Petition in Favor of Chapter
11

National Finance Corp. (NFC), in a compromise agreement with the
creditors that tried to push it into chapter 7 liquidating bankruptcy,
announced that it will instead file for chapter 11 reorganization,
according to a newswire report.  The agreement was reached Thursday
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Albany.

A trio of creditors joined together in August to file the involuntary
bankruptcy petition against NFC, the Halfmoon, N.Y.-based mortgage
lender that closed its doors in December. The petition said that the
three — SFX Sports Group Inc. of New York City, First American
Credco of Poway, Calif., and First American Flood Data Services of
Austin, Texas — were seeking more than $600,000 in claims. 
NFC sought to dismiss the involuntary bankruptcy petition, claiming it
was attempting to go back into business and that it had a significant
number of assets that would not benefit either side if put on the
auction block.

Fruit of the Loom Gains Time in Reorganization Plan

Fruit of the Loom, the largest U.S. maker of underwear and T- shirts,
last week was given until year's end to file its reorganization plan by
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., according to the
Chicago Sun-Times.  The company’s deadline to file its
plan was Tuesday, Oct. 31. Bankruptcy Court Judge Peter Walsh
granted the extension.  After the company files its plan, the court
will hold hearings to allow comments from investors and other interested
parties, which will likely take several months. 

Fruit of the Loom filed for chapter 11 last December.  According
to Fruit of the Loom's most recent quarterly filing with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, Fruit of the Loom executives hope to
emerge from bankruptcy next year.

A Daewoo Motor spokesman said the company needed to make yet another
40 billion-won debt payment on Tuesday and that it was relying on
creditors to come up with the money.  A Daewoo spokesman said
failure to pay the debt due on Monday for a second day, which he said
now seemed likely, “would have an adverse impact on the ongoing
sale talks with GM and partner Fiat.”  The two foreign auto
firms, which have a strategic alliance, are in the process of performing
due diligence on Daewoo Motor before deciding whether on to buy it.

Daewoo Motor itself had 17.9 trillion-won in debts against just 11.8
trillion-won in assets as of June 1999, but analysts said the asset
value of the company has significantly deteriorated since then. 
Finance Minister Jin Nyum on Sunday criticized Daewoo Motor's reform
efforts, calling them “unsatisfactory.”  “If the
company fails to carry out drastic self-rescue plans, it will not
survive,’ he told a television talk show on Sunday.

Owner of Norfolk, Va., Motel Files For Bankruptcy

The owner of a motel labeled last year as a “drug blight” by
the city of Norfolk, Va., is seeking bankruptcy court protection from
its creditors, according to a newswire report.  The Red Carpet Inn
had operated under the name Town Point Motel before being closed and
refurbished.  Kanak Hospitality Management Corp., which owns the
motel, filed for chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Norfolk to
hold off a scheduled foreclosure.  The Oct. 25 filing came less
than two hours before a foreclosure sale ordered by Zions First National
Bank of Salt Lake City.  Kanak Hospitality had defaulted on its
mortgage loan from the bank.

Kanak's bankruptcy filing listed liabilities of $3.6 million and
assets of nearly $1.9 million, consisting largely of the motel and
land.  Kanak Hospitality struggled with the business after a July
1999 raid by federal drug agents that resulted in 18 arrests and the
seizure of thousands of dollars worth of heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
Kanak had purchased the motel a month before the raid.  While the
secured claims against Kanak total nearly $2.1 million, the bankruptcy
filing valued the motel and its land at nearly $1.8 million.

According to the filing, the city has a tax lien against the property
— another secured claim — for $12,415 of unpaid property
taxes.  Kanak also owes almost $1.6 million to unsecured creditors.
The bankruptcy filing lists six large unsecured creditors, noting that
four of those debts are disputed.

United Companies' saga winding down

United Companies Financial Corp., the one-time high-flying local company
that spent more than 50 years in the home lending business, could be
nothing more than a memory by this time next week, according to a
newswire report.  A Wilmington, Del., bankruptcy court is expected
within days to give final approval to a reorganization plan sale that
would move what's left of United to an Irving, Texas-based home-lending
company and dole out proceeds exceeding $848 million among United's
creditors.

An attorney representing United said most of the EMC deal has been
completed and that it likely will be finalized by next week. 
According to the reorganization plan, shareholders won't receive any of
the proceeds from United's sale to EMC.  The reorganization plan
establishes a $1.7 million litigation trust. The trust will be overseen
by representatives of shareholders and creditors, who will use the money
for legal expenses should they decide to file suit.

Bankruptcy Court Approves Criimi Mae’s Disclosure

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland, Greenbelt
Division, has entered an order approving the Rockville, Md.-based Criimi
Mae’s proposed second amended joint disclosure statement and other
proposed solicitation materials. The court has scheduled a confirmation
hearing on Criimi Mae’s third amended joint reorganization plan
for Nov. 15.

The company's reorganization plan was filed with the support of the
official committee of equity security holders of Criimi Mae’s,
which is a co-proponent of the plan. Under the plan, Merrill Lynch
Mortgage Capital Inc. and German American Capital Corp., two of the
company's largest secured creditors, would provide a significant portion
of the recapitalization financing contemplated by the plan. Since filing
chapter 11 on Oct. 5, 1998, Criimi Mae has suspended its loan
origination, loan securitization and commercial mortgage-backed
securities (CMBS) acquisition businesses.

Sonoma County Nursing Homes File for Bankruptcy

Three nursing homes in Sonoma County California — Montgomery,
Creekside and Fircrest — filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy this week
in a legal maneuver that allows them to stay open while they reorganize
their finances, according to a newswire report.

Ron Walton, chief operating officer of Hermitage Health Care, which
manages the facilities, said Friday the approximately 360 residents of
the homes 'should expect little change other than operational
changes.'

Documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Rosa, Calif.,
do not list the total liabilities of the convalescent homes. 
However, in a listing of major creditors, the largest amounts are owed
to Hermitage Health Care of Santa Rosa, the management company for the
facilities; the Internal Revenue Service; and contractors such as
Dependent Nursing Service of Vallejo, Future Rehab of Napa and Genesis
Health Ventures of Maryland.  The convalescent hospitals filing for
bankruptcy protection include Montgomery and Creekside in Santa Rosa,
Fircrest in Sebastopol and the Carlmont Belmont.