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Peabody Energy Corp. is suing Bowie Resource Holdings LLC over the collapse of its $358 million offer to acquire Peabody’s Colorado and New Mexico mines, which preceded Peabody’s bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, seeks to collect a $20 million termination fee from Bowie, plus interest, costs and expenses, court papers show. According to Peabody, the deal fell apart when Bowie failed to line up financing for the cash purchase price. It says Bowie — a unit of Louisville, Ky.-based coal mining company Bowie Resource Partners LLC — has so far refused to pay the termination fee that was negotiated in connection with the sale.

Intervention Energy Holdings LLC faced off yesterday with lender EIG Global Energy Partners to defend its nascent reorganization, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Intervention’s May 20 chapter 11 filing was immediately met with opposition from EIG, which quickly asked Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey to dismiss the case. EIG, which invests in energy-related debt and equity, took ownership of a single share of Intervention last year in connection with a forbearance agreement. As part of the agreement, Intervention agreed to secure 100 percent shareholder approval before filing for chapter 11 protection. However, since it never signed off on the filing, EIG says the chapter 11 wasn’t authorized and should be dismissed. At Thursday’s hearing, EIG’s attorney focused on the forbearance agreement and its ownership stake, calling the bankruptcy filing “a breach of contract.” EIG has also argued in court papers that “there is no possibility for reorganization” and that a bankruptcy proceeding won’t benefit creditors.

Suppliers, former employees and others that are stuck with $150 million in losses from the bankruptcy of grocer Fresh & Easy LLC have sued billionaire Ron Burkle, accusing the private-equity chief of plundering the troubled grocery chain, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Through his Yucaipa Cos., Burkle is a major player in the hard-hit grocery industry, owning a piece of Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. — which filed for bankruptcy in July 2015 — as well as Fresh & Easy, which followed A&P into bankruptcy in October. Both chains are liquidating or being sold off in small chunks, wiping out thousands of jobs and leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in debts unpaid. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by the unsecured creditors’ committee in Fresh & Easy’s chapter 11 proceeding. A lawyer for Burkle said Wednesday that the creditors’ allegations will be disproved. Creditors want a court order to stop Burkle and associated entities from allegedly plundering 19 stores that Fresh & Easy creditors say rightfully belong to them. Earlier this year, court papers revealed Fresh & Easy creditors have been demanding information from Yucaipa about the alleged transfer of the stores — involving real estate worth at least $40 million, creditors say — from Fresh & Easy to a Yucaipa affiliate.

U.S. Congress members urged Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to deny Caesars Entertainment Corp. a favorable tax ruling relating to the casino operator's plan to create a trust to own its hotels and resorts, saying that doing so would amount to a taxpayer subsidy, Reuters reported yesterday. Lawmakers said in a May 26 letter to Lew that Caesars' plans to reorganize its bankrupt main operating unit into a casino operator and creditor-controlled real estate investment trust (REIT) abuses the unit's original intent of allowing small investors to diversify into real estate. Caesars put the unit into bankruptcy early last year. The proposed REIT spinoff provides favorable tax treatment and such trusts are more highly valued by investors, increasing the recovery for creditors who are owed $18 billion. The company last year applied for what is known as a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service to confirm that the REIT would be treated as a tax-free separation. Caesars has warned that if it fails to get tax-free status it could incur significant liabilities which could undermine the value of the reorganization. "The REIT would effectively shelter a considerable portion of the casinos' profits, thus functioning as a taxpayer-funded subsidy to one of the largest casino companies in the U.S. and its private equity owners," said the letter.

Florida will only get back a small portion of the millions it invested in a failed visual effects film studio whose high-profile bankruptcy was used in the contentious 2014 election between Gov. Rick Scott and Charlie Crist, the Associated Press reported yesterday. State and local governments in April reached a settlement in a complicated legal battle that involved filings in bankruptcy court as a well as a civil lawsuit filed in St. Lucie County. A bankruptcy judge approved the settlement earlier this month and the payments are expected to be made over the summer. The state in 2009 agreed to invest $20 million with Digital Domain, which had promised to create about 500 jobs at a Port St. Lucie animation studio and a West Palm Beach film school. But the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Florida sued Digital Domain at the direction of Scott, whose re-election campaign mentioned the lawsuit in a TV ad critical of Crist since the former governor had signed off on the initial deal to help the company. Under the settlement, Florida will receive an estimated $5 million, but only about $3 million is expected go back to taxpayers.

A bankruptcy judge on Friday delivered a defeat to Netflix Inc., which has fought for the right to release two films produced by Relativity Media LLC on its streaming platform ahead of their expected theatrical release, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles issued an order forbidding Netflix to release the films, saying a premature debut of the movies could prove “devastating” for the Hollywood studio that he released from chapter 11 earlier this year. Relativity’s fragile reorganization plan is dependent upon the theatrical release of its most anticipated films: “Masterminds,” a comedy starring Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig, and “The Disappointments Room,” a horror film starring Kate Beckinsale. “It is my responsibility to ensure the plan I approved is carried out,” the judge said in court Friday. Allowing Netflix to proceed “would threaten the bankruptcy process…with devastating consequences to the plan and distributions” to creditors.