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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.

Spirit Airlines is working with advisers to address its debt maturities after a proposed acquisition by JetBlue Airways was blocked last month, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The regional airline has brought on law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell and investment bank Perella Weinberg to explore ways to address its $1.1 billion of 8% senior secured notes due 2025 and $500 million of convertible bonds maturing 2026. The company has said that it is exploring ways to refinance its near-term maturities. Analysts following the company said Spirit has a number of options, including distressed exchanges such as swapping the debt, which is trading at depressed levels, for a combination of debt and equity to extend the maturity on the notes. The 2025 notes last traded at roughly 70 cents for a yield of about 33% Thursday morning, according to a trader. Spirit on Thursday reported lower revenue for the fourth quarter, but the loss came in narrower than expected. The company outlined some of its plans to turn things around after years of losses. Chief Executive Ted Christie said demand for domestic U.S. flights appears to be rebounding to start the new year.

Sinclair Inc. is exploring bringing in an equity partner for the Tennis Channel as well as other strategic alternatives for the network, FrontOfficeSports.com reported. The tennis-specific network, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, offers the most concentrated single-sport coverage anywhere in television, broadcasting nearly 5,000 hours in 2023. In the third quarter of 2023, Sinclair’s tennis segment, which includes the Tennis Channel, the network’s streaming operations, and Tennis.com, reported $59 million in revenue, up by 9%, and $13 million in operating income, up 18%, beating prior Sinclair guidance and representing a bright spot for the company. Sinclair is now projecting full-year Tennis Channel revenue to reach $226 million and adjusted earnings of at least $61 million. That performance, speaking in part to the rising global profile of tennis, has occurred despite ongoing cord-cutting continuing to dramatically reshape the entire sports media landscape. Based in part on those results, the strategic review of the Tennis Channel is being prompted largely by inbound interest in the network. Sinclair, which purchased the Tennis Channel in 2016 for $350 million, has hired investment bank Moelis & Co. to handle inquiries. he move could see Sinclair further reduce its profile in sports. Already, its regional sports network subsidiary Diamond Sports Group is in chapter 11 protection and attempting a three-pronged recovery plan after expectations had previously grown toward an eventual shuttering of that company.

A group of shareholders of bankrupt Ebix is seeking to appoint an official committee to represent its interests in the software and e-commerce services supplier’s chapter 11, saying that the company’s stock still has value, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The group owning 18% of Ebix stock made a request on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, asking Judge Scott Everett to order the U.S. Trustee, the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, to appoint an official committee of equity holders. These equity holders said the stock market views Ebix as a solvent business and the stock is currently trading at roughly $2.40 a share, indicating a market capitalization of roughly $74 million. Also, “insiders and sophisticated investors are accumulating shares,” the equity group said. It pointed out, for example, that, days after the bankruptcy, Ebix director George Hebard bought 409,000 shares for roughly $1 apiece. The official unsecured creditors' committee in the Ebix bankruptcy, however, has said that the appointment of an equity committee shouldn’t be considered “at this time,” saying either the company itself or the creditor committee could protect shareholder interests.

King State Coffee has filed for chapter 11 reorganization after months of business interruptions caused by a slow-moving construction project on Floribraska Avenue in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported. The popular Tampa brewery and coffee shop has between $1 million and $10 million in liabilities, including around $500,000 in estimated unsecured claims, according to court documents filed on Feb. 2. Owners Nate Young and Tim McTague said that they filed for bankruptcy protections to adjust the business in anticipation that disruption from the project will not be resolved until at least April, if not longer. They initially raised concerns about the lack of urgency around the construction with city officials in January and requested financial assistance to shore up operations. The city referred that claim to JVS Contracting Inc., the company leading the project, but a decision on whether or how much King State is owed has not been reached, Young and McTague said.

Fells Point Tavern is no longer serving customers, and the Thames Street restaurant’s ownership agreed to vacate the premises by Feb. 15 as it endures lengthy bankruptcy litigation, the Baltimore Sun reported. The business’s attorney in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Robert Scarlett, said yesterday that he and his client, tavern owner Vasilios Keramidas, voluntarily decided to give up the premises after they couldn’t agree with the restaurant’s landlord. According to court documents, Keramidas has not made any of his $21,000 monthly rent payments since October and owes property owners Thames Property LLC over $395,000 in unpaid rent, late fees and utilities since the lease started in June 2021. Doing business as Kali’s Court LLC, Keramidas filed for bankruptcy in the spring of 2023, stating that the restaurant owed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the IRS and the Maryland Office of the Comptroller as well as the U.S. Small Business Administration. Keramidas’ attorney said the business was one of “an array of” restaurants in Baltimore that suffered from the coronavirus pandemic, which started in March 2020, struggles he said led to the restaurant filing for bankruptcy in May. Their application noted that $160,000 in rent was past due, and their monthly payment needed to be renegotiated and is still pending nearly seven months later. The business’s landlord filed a motion in November asking a bankruptcy court judge to order the restaurant to turn over the property, alleging that the restaurant had paid only $25,400 against nearly $198,000 that had come due in the months since filing the petition.