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Jacksonville’s uphill climb in recovering $210,000 from a business co-owned by City Council member Katrina Brown got harder this week when her mother filed a chapter 11 petition for a separate business called KJB Specialties Inc., which does business as Jerome Brown Barbecue & Wings, the Florida Times-Union reported today. The city filed suit in January to recover the $210,000 grant it gave to Cowealth for a barbecue sauce manufacturing operation on Commonwealth Avenue. The city’s suit contends Cowealth, which is co-owned by Katrina Brown and her mother, Joann, failed to create any of the 56 jobs required by the economic development agreement. Read more.

Delve into restaurant bankruptcy issues at the “Why Are My Favorite Restaurants Closing?” session at this year’s Annual Spring Meeting. Click here to register! 

When bankrupt Lily Robotics announced that its self-flying, follow-along camera drone wouldn't be produced, it promised to refund $34 million in pre-orders back to its customers. That's still the plan, but according to a new refund request form, the company isn't sure when those payments will actually go out, Engadget reported on Friday. The refund process is being run through Prime Clerk, the agency helping Lily Robotics navigate its bankruptcy claims. By making the refund process part of its bankruptcy, the company is hopefully ensuring that all of its customers will eventually be paid back for their pre-order. Lily Robotics hopes to refund most customers directly on the credit card, but is working on a plant to reimburse customers by other means if the original purchase card is no longer active.

Paychecks have bounced for some of the 350 Sungevity workers who were abruptly laid off ahead of the struggling solar company’s recent bankruptcy filing, increasing the pressure on employees who lost their jobs, the <em>San Jose Mercury News</em> reported on Saturday. Sungevity said that the checks bounced due to confusion by its bank, and it is attempting to remedy the problems. The company didn’t identify the bank, and it didn’t specify how many former employees’ paychecks bounced.

The Diocese of Duluth has been granted an extension to deliver its plan to emerge from bankruptcy protection, WDAZ.com reported on Friday. The Catholic diocese, which has been under chapter 11 protection since December 2015, was scheduled to file a reorganization plan by Friday, but U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Kressel granted a motion to extend that deadline as the diocese continues to seek coverage of sexual abuse claims from its insurers. "Despite the ongoing litigation, the Diocese (remains) optimistic that the parties will reach a consensual plan through the mediation process," attorneys Ford Elsaesser and Phillip Kunkel wrote in the motion. "However, before the parties are able to negotiate a plan of reorganization several legal issues need to be resolved." The diocese, which was hit with a $4.9 million verdict weeks before filing for bankruptcy, is facing a total of 125 abuse claims filed under the Minnesota Child Victims Act.