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Celsius Network LLC’s recent customer agreements were clearer than earlier versions of its terms of use about whether customers were handing over ownership of their coins when they made deposits into the firm’s high-interest Earn accounts, according to the bankruptcy judge overseeing its chapter 11 case, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York made the remarks at a hearing Monday over a legal issue in the Celsius case that could also affect millions of customers of other bankrupt crypto platforms: What rights do crypto banks, brokerages or exchanges have over their customers’ holdings? Celsius is asking for a court decision backing its rights to use its customers’ crypto, including to sell stablecoins worth $18 million to fund a longer stay in bankruptcy. Judge Glenn said that he expects to rule on the matter next week or later and listened to arguments from lawyers for Celsius and customers, as well as several customers who spoke for themselves, state regulators, and a Justice Department watchdog. Celsius updated its terms of use eight times between 2018 and September 2022, asking customers to accept changes each time by clicking on online forms that popped up, usually on users’ mobile devices. “Versions one through five are less clear to me on the issue of ownership. Version six was clearer,” Judge Glenn said from the bench. The agreements gave Celsius the right to unilaterally update the terms of use, and continued use of the Celsius app was treated as acceptance of revised terms, according to a court filing by Oren Blonstein, the company’s chief compliance officer. The firm made significant efforts to get customers to accept the sixth version of the terms launched in July, sending emails and then threatening to cut off interest earnings and later suspending access to the platform for users who didn’t sign off, according to Mr. Blonstein’s filing.

Citigroup Inc. is close to getting back about $500 million it accidentally paid to 10 Revlon Inc. lenders, with three on the verge of returning their payouts and others making "substantial progress" toward a resolution, a court filing shows, Reuters reported. Citigroup, as Revlon's loan agent, had accidentally used its own money in August 2020 to prematurely pay off an $894 million loan owed by billionaire Ronald Perelman's now-bankrupt cosmetics company. Some recipients returned their payouts after realizing the mistake, which Citigroup blamed on human error, but the 10 lenders had refused, saying the bank paid what they were owed. The potential settlement was discussed in a joint letter by lawyers for Citigroup and the lenders, which include hedge funds and investment funds, filed late Monday night in Manhattan federal court. A resolution would end more than two years of litigation by Citigroup against Brigade Capital Management, HPS Investment Partners, Symphony Asset Management and the other lenders over a blunder that the bank's Chief Executive Jane Fraser called a "massive unforced error."

Bertucci’s Restaurants filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, according to court documents viewed by Restaurant Dive. The company formed in April 2018 after Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza & Pasta went bankrupt and Earl Enterprises bought it for $20 million. The 47-unit, Italian-themed restaurant said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, sales declines and increased expenses led it to declare bankruptcy for the second time in four years. Bertucci’s has been offering promotions this year to try and get more guests in the door. In July, it temporarily lowered menu prices to 1980s levels for 14 items. In August, it launched Happy Hour and brought back its Throwback Thursdays promotion, which also priced menu items as they were in the 1980s. But these efforts don’t seem to have helped regain sales momentum lost during the pandemic. While the casual pizza chain reported over $120 million in annual sales for 2019, sales fell to $97.9 million in 2021 and operating losses were $14 million with a net loss of $7.2 million, according to the filing. In 2018, the company had 56 locations, but its footprint shrank 16% as of 2022. Bertucci’s employee count also fell from roughly 2,000 in 2019 to 1,436 in 2022. Bertucci’s has over $20 million in secured debt, a tax obligation of $1.5 million and unsecured debt of about $26.5 million, according to the filing.