Bankruptcy
Judge Sues to Get Job Back
U.S.
Bankruptcy Judge David A. Scholl filed
suit Wednesday in the U.S. Court of
Federal Claims in Washington, to challenging
the fairness of the decision by the
judges of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals to deny him a second 14-year
term on the bench, according to The Legal Intelligencer. Attorneys
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Cletus P. Lyman and
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Richard A. Ash of Philadelphia's Lyman
& Ash and sole practitioner Kenneth
A. Jacobsen filed the suit, alleging
that the appellate court's process violated
Scholl's constitutional right to due
process. The suit seeks compensation
and reinstatement, stating that federal
regulations require that when a bankruptcy
judge is up for reappointment, notice
be published in "a general local
newspaper or similar publication and,
if practical, in a bar journal, newsletter
or local legal periodical." That
requirement was violated, the suit said,
because no notice was ever published
in any general circulation newspaper
in the Philadelphia area.
On March 2, the 3rd Circuit Executive
issued a notice about Scholl's being
under consideration for reappointment.
Then, on April 6, the executive issued
a new public notice extending the comment
period to May 5. Chief U.S. Circuit
Judge
Edward R. Becker issued a memo on
April 11 to all 3rd Circuit bankruptcy
judges informing them of a modification
to the reappointment process—the adoption
of a questionnaire to be sent to lawyers
who had appeared before the judge over
the prior three years. But the suit
says the questionnaire in Scholl's case
was not sent to all 5,000 lawyers who
had appeared before Scholl during that
period. "Instead," the suit
said, "the questionnaire was sent
to only 1,165 lawyers, disproportionately
represented by those specializing in
chapter 11 business reorganization cases."
No questionnaires were sent to the many
attorneys who regularly appear before
Scholl and "who were in the best
position to evaluate his performance
and judicial demeanor."
SafetyTips.com
Withdraws Bid for Online Crime Site
APB Online Inc., the operator of online
crime news site
href='http://APBnews.com'>APBnews.com, announced that
href='http://SafetyTips.com'>SafetyTips.com Inc. has withdrawn its bid
to buy APB's assets for $950,000, according
to Reuters. Earlier this week, the Waltham,
Mass.-based security information company
announced it would buy APB's assets;
APB filed bankruptcy in July. "After
expansive due diligence, the board just
decided to withdraw and let the court
auction determine the value of the assets,"
said Theresa Vivona, a
style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'>SafetyTips.com
spokeswoman. New York-based APB, whose
principal operating unit is the online
news site, said it had obtained permission
from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell
its assets at an auction on Sept. 1
at a minimum of $950,000.
href='http://SafetyTips.com'>SafetyTips.com told APB Wednesday that it
would not fund a debtor-in-possession
borrowing agreement of $500,000 that
would have helped the crime news site
operate until the auction.
Singer
Sees End of Bankruptcy
Singer Co. NV, the 150-year-old sewing
machine maker, said yesterday that a
U.S. court confirmed its reorganization
plan that will bring the company out
of bankruptcy, according to Reuters.
Singer filed chapter 11 in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District
of New York on Sept. 12.
style='mso-spacerun: yes'> Holders of general unsecured claims will receive
100 percent of Singer's equity when
it emerges from bankruptcy under the
court-plan. SemiTech Corp., a consumer
products maker, owned 50 percent of
Singer's equity before the bankruptcy
filing. In addition to the new equity,
a creditors' trust will be created,
which will receive all transferred causes
of action from third parties. Singer
will be reorganized as a new company
in the Netherlands Antilles and will
become the parent company of all Singer
businesses. Most of the foreign operating
units were not included in the bankruptcy
filings and will continue business as
normal. The reorganized Singer has a
$55 million secured credit facility
provided by the Bank of Nova Scotia,
which is the company's existing lender.
Video
City to Restructure Under Chapter 11
Video City Inc. announced yesterday
that the company and its subsidiaries
filed chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court for the Central District of California,
according to a company press release.
The filings were made in the wake of
actions taken by Fleet Retail Finance
Inc. to accelerate the outstanding indebtedness
under the company's secured credit facility
with Fleet. Fleet had obtained a temporary
order from Massachusetts' Suffolk County
requiring that all cash and cash receipts
be turned over to Fleet. Video City
filed a petition to vacate the temporary
order and, on Aug. 22, the Massachusetts
court directed Fleet to release enough
funds to cover payroll. Video City was
moving forward in its intended merger
with West Coast Entertainment Corp.
and was current in all its payment obligations
under the Fleet credit facility until
Fleet accelerated the maturity of the
company's indebtedness.
Building
Products Firm Files Bankruptcy
Miron Building Products Co. Inc., a
home-decorating retailer based in Lake
Katrine, N.Y., has filed for bankruptcy,
claiming more than 1,000 creditors and
millions of dollars in liabilities,
according to the Times Union Albany. Miron's spokesman, Attorney Richard H. Weiner
of the Albany, N.Y., law firm Cooper
Erving Savage Nolan & Heller LLP,
confirmed that all of the company's
eight units—including warehouses, retail
outlets and a concrete plant—had closed.
According to the chapter 11 petition,
the claims of Miron's three largest
creditors totaled more than $6 million.
The company's three largest creditors
are the state Department of Tax and
Finance, which holds a claim of $3.5
million; the Chicago-based Tru Serv,
which is owed $2.02 million; and Glens
Falls Lehigh Cement in Glens Falls,
N.Y., with a claim of $558,063.
Anschutz
Close to Taking Control of United Artists,
Including Prearranged Chapter 11
Denver
billionaire Philp F. Anschutz is close
to a deal to take control of United
Artists Theater Co. in a transaction
expected to include a prearranged chapter
11 filing next month, according to The Wall Street Journal. In April, Anschutz paid roughly $65 million
for about 21 percent of a $440 million
syndicated loan, making him the biggest
single lender to the company. His debt
will be converted to equity, giving
him more than 60 percent of the company,
according to the plan. United Artists
is expected to file chapter 11 shortly
after the Labor Day holiday but will
continue to operate with a debt load
intended to be sustainable. In recent
weeks, both Carmike Cinemas and Edwards
Theaters Circuit Inc. have filed for
bankruptcy due years of over-expansion.
