The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, an emerging hot spot for companies filing large chapter 11 cases such as Rite Aid and WeWork, said yesterday that it will continue to randomly assign cases among its judges rather than directing large cases to just one or two judges, Reuters reported. Chief Judge Michael Kaplan in Trenton addressed his court's case assignment rules in response to a letter from creditor rights advocates, including the Creditor Rights Coalition and several law professors, who urged the court not to create a specialized "complex case" panel during an upcoming rewrite of the court’s rules for handling chapter 11 cases. "Our District will never change our rules to create 'complex case panels' or limit assignment of cases in any fashion," Kaplan wrote in an email to the creditor group that Reuters reviewed. "All of our judges are more than capable and experienced to handle complex cases." Judge Kaplan pointed out that all large bankruptcies recently filed in New Jersey, including WeWork, Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond and David's Bridal, have been assigned to different judges.
