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Protections in Place for Former Lifestyle Lift Patients, Employees

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The sudden shutdown in March of plastic surgery chain Lifestyle Lift has created confusion for patients looking for refunds on scheduled services that never happened, the Wall Street Journal’s Bankruptcy Beat Blog reported yesterday. The company’s 400 laid-off employees, meanwhile, have been scrambling to find answers to questions about incomplete final paychecks and how to access retirement benefits. Now, with Lifestyle Lift under the protection of a Detroit bankruptcy court, clarity over what happens next is slowly coming into focus. This week, a bankruptcy judge put the company’s wind-down into the hands of a court-appointed chapter 11 trustee, Detroit-based Basil Simon. The judge also appointed a patient care ombudsman, Deborah Fish, to ensure patient files are safeguarded and privacy issues are addressed.

Caesars Seeks More Time to Control Bankruptcy Case

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Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. wants to extend until Nov. 15 the amount of time it has to file its own reorganization proposal without the threat of rival plans, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Caesars on Wednesday requested until Jan. 15, 2016, to solicit votes on any proposal it files. Without an approval from Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar, Caesars’ exclusive period to file a plan would run out May 15, and the time to solicit votes on such a proposal would run out July 14.

LightSquared’s Losses Since Bankruptcy Hit $2 Billion

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LightSquared’s bankruptcy has hit another milestone: $2 billion in losses since Philip Falcone’s wireless venture filed for chapter 11 protection in May 2012, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In a bankruptcy court filing on Wednesday, LightSquared said that it lost $72.7 million in March, bringing its total loss since filing for bankruptcy to $2.07 billion. LightSquared’s biggest expense in March was interest on some of its debt: $41 million for the month and $1.22 billion since the bankruptcy.

Education Management Finalizes Debt Restructuring

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Education Management Corp. says that it has completed the final step of its $1.3 billion debt restructuring, which converted preferred stock into common shares, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The for-profit education company that runs schools including the Art Institutes said it’s converted the stock to 94.9 percent outstanding stock, leaving no shareholder with more than 20 percent of the common stock. Those who held common stock prior to EDMC's restructuring now own 4 percent of the outstanding common stock.

Energy Future Talks Aim to Raise $11 Billion, End Bankruptcy

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Energy Future Holdings Corp. and its warring creditor groups expressed optimism about a new round of talks over an $11 billion proposal to reorganize the company so it can exit bankruptcy by year’s end, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Company officials “believe the time is right to begin a determined march” to end the $42 billion chapter 11 case, attorney Edward Sassower told a bankruptcy judge at a hearing yesterday. Some creditors of Dallas-based Energy Future have proposed raising $11 billion in debt and equity, a lawyer for a group of lower-ranking debt holders told the judge. A deal could be two months off, should everybody involved in the latest negotiations stick with their current positions, said the attorney, Chris Shore, who represents a group of creditors that has fought the company since the bankruptcy began 11 months ago.

Analysis: U.S. Public Companies Seek Bankruptcy at Fastest 1st Quarter Rate Since 2010

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The number of bankruptcies among publicly traded U.S. companies has climbed to the highest first-quarter level for five years, according to a Reuters analysis yesterday of data from research firm bankruptcompanynews.com. Plunging prices of crude oil and other commodities is one of the major reasons for the increased filings, and bankruptcy experts said that a more aggressive stance by lenders may also be hurting some companies. While U.S. stocks have climbed to near record levels and the jobless rate has fallen to a six-year low, 26 publicly traded U.S. corporations filed for bankruptcy in the first three months of 2015. The number doubled from 11 in the first quarter of last year and was the highest since 27 in the first quarter of 2010, which was in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis. Six companies had reported at least a billion dollars in assets when they filed in the first quarter of this year, the most in the first quarter of any year since 2009. Click here for the full analysis.
 
To hear the latest on trends emerging in business and consumer bankruptcy filings, important cases and perspectives from experts and officials including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), be sure to attend ABI’s 33rd Annual Spring Meeting.
 

RadioShack Trademarks, Customers, Dealer Network Up for Sale

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Headed to the bankruptcy auction block in May is the well-known trademark of RadioShack, as well as the data of millions of customers and contracts with hundreds of independent dealers strung across small-town America, who have been selling under the RadioShack name for decades, the Wall Street Journal reported today. It is all for sale in a bankruptcy that, so far, has only paid off part of the $1 billion or so in debt that had pushed RadioShack Corp. into bankruptcy in February. While much of the business was saved through a takeover by Standard General LP, the corporate shell of RadioShack left behind in chapter 11 is still trying to scrape up more cash for creditors. More than half the 4,000 stores are being liquidated, but the hedge fund rescued over 1,700 stores and is leading a revival of the retailing operation.

RadioShack Looks to Unload Defense Mobile Phones

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RadioShack is going back to basics, but it won’t be taking thousands of Defense Mobile cellphones with it, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The electronics retailer is looking to unload more than 17,000 Defense Mobile prepaid cellphones to Quality One Wireless for about $1.8 million, according to court papers. Defense Mobile, led by Virgin Mobile USA cofounder Peter Lurie, sells inexpensive cellphones for active duty military service members, their families and veterans on Sprint’s network. At the time of its bankruptcy, RadioShack was the exclusive national retailer for Defense Mobile. “These handsets are a new product offering, and the debtors have not had success selling the handsets in a large volume,” RadioShack lawyers said.

WBH Energy Seeks at Least $25 Million for Assets

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Texas oil company WBH Energy LP credit bid has put its assets on the block for $25 million, subject to higher bids at a bankruptcy auction, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. In a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Austin, Texas, WBH Energy said that its lender, investment firm Castlelake LP, has agreed to serve as the stalking or lead bidder at the auction. The lender intends to credit bid — or offer to forgive some of the debt it is owed — for the independent oil company's assets. WBH is asking for at least $15 million for its oil and gas properties, some 2570 acres throughout the Barnett Shale region in Texas.