The bankruptcy judge overseeing the wind-down of Sears Holdings Corp. threatened to appoint an examiner to resolve disputes involving the new company controlled by former Sears leader Edward S. Lampert that purchased its best-performing stores out of chapter 11, the Wall Street Journal reported. Judge Robert Drain said at a hearing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., that Lampert’s Transform Holdco LLC and the Sears chapter 11 estate have 10 days to reach agreements over key issues surrounding how much money they owe each other under Transform’s $5.2 billion deal to take over hundreds of Sears and Kmart stores. Dueling lawsuits were filed in recent weeks as the old Sears prepares to settle up with creditors. The old Sears is seeking a court order to force Mr. Lampert to pay it more than $200 million to hold up his end of a bargain that allowed him to buy hundreds of stores through the retailer’s bankruptcy.
