A California federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved a chapter 11 plan for Sedgwick LLP that includes a settlement clawing back a total of $1.9 million from 47 former partners, over one ex-partner’s objection to a provision barring non-settling partners from bringing claims against their colleagues who settled, the American Lawyer reported. Bankruptcy Judge Hannah Blumenstiel of the Northern District of California signed off on the agreement between the defunct firm, its creditors’ committee and the settling partners after a 45-minute hearing, in which she admonished the resisting partner’s attorney for introducing arguments that were absent from her recent filing on the matter. Sedgwick initially filed for chapter 11 protection at the start of October 2018. The settlement approved Thursday returns more money to creditors than an earlier proposed clawback deal, which covered $1.595 million paid to 45 partners during the firm’s 2017 collapse.
