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Commercial chapter 11 filings increased 74 percent to 345 in November 2022 from the 198 filings recorded in November 2021, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. The November 2022 commercial chapter 11 filing total was lifted by the more than 100 cases related to the chapter 11 filing on November 11 by crypto exchange FTX Trading, Ltd. Total commercial filings increased 17 percent to 1,848 in November over 1,586 total filings in November 2021. Subchapter V small business filings increased 38 percent to 117 in November 2022 from 85 filings in November 2021. Total U.S. bankruptcy filings in November 2022 were 31,178, up six percent from 29,335 total filings in November 2021. Overall individual filings also increased six percent in November 2022, as 29,330 filings were up over 27,749 individual filings recorded in November 2021. While still below pre-pandemic levels, individual chapter 13 filings continued to increase in November, as 12,862 filings were up 25 percent over the November 2021 total of 10,327.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday signaled a desire for clearer rules on when appeals courts can hear disputes stemming from bankruptcy sales, in a case involving a cheap lease Sears had at the Mall of America that was transferred following its bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, a lawyer for the Minneapolis-based mall's parent company, MOAC Mall Holdings LLC, sought to convince the justices to reverse a lower court ruling finding it had to honor an extremely tenant-friendly lease it made with Sears Holdings Corp in 1991 that offered Sears rent of just $10 a year for 100 years. After Sears went bankrupt in 2018, it sold its assets for $5.2 billion to former chairman Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc., and the lease was transferred months later to Transform Holdco LLC, a company formed by Sears' new owners. Transform's lawyer Eric Brunstad argued that under bankruptcy law no court has the jurisdiction to hear Mall of America's appeal and that finality in bankruptcy sales protects both debtors and buyers.

When crypto exchange FTX was struggling to raise cash early last month, it seized billions of dollars worth of collateral from its trading arm, Alameda Research, and used it to try to convince investors of its financial health, former FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said, the Wall Street Journal reported. But much of it didn’t add up. A big chunk of the assets consisted of four thinly traded crypto tokens closely connected to Mr. Bankman-Fried and FTX employees and mostly held by Alameda. The tokens were likely worth far less than the $6.4 billion marked on the balance sheet FTX was shopping to investors in the hope of a bailout, according to market data and crypto researchers. “It wasn’t meant to be casting a judgment or making a decision for people on what they thought was their worth from a liquidity perspective,” Mr. Bankman-Fried said. The four tokens taken from Alameda were listed as assets in documents dated Nov. 10, Mr. Bankman-Fried said in an interview Friday and according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. By then, the value of the tokens had roughly halved in less than a week, market data and FTX’s balance sheet show. Some investors had already been skeptical of the value of these tokens. At its peak price, one had a market value of $127 billion—though only a tiny fraction of that was available for purchase. The value FTX placed on the tokens held on its balance sheet vastly exceeded the total amount in circulation. No investor stepped forward to save FTX, which filed for bankruptcy the next day.

The chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee demanded on Monday that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and former CEO of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, testify before Congress on Dec. 13, Reuters reported. "It is imperative that you attend our hearing on the 13th, and we are willing to schedule continued hearings if there is more information to be shared later," Representative Maxine Waters, the committee chair, wrote on Twitter. On Sunday, Bankman-Fried tweeted that he would testify before the committee after he finished "learning and reviewing" the events that led to the spectacular collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. In the tweet Bankman-Fried said he was unsure if that would happen before Dec. 13. But in her reply on Monday, Waters wrote on Twitter: "Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it's clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony."

The judge overseeing Celsius Network LLC’s bankruptcy case is expected to decide if the crypto firm has full ownership rights over customer deposits, a key legal issue that may resonate for millions of other users of failed crypto platforms, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York is set to consider this week whether Celsius has the right to lend, sell and reinvest billions of dollars of crypto deposited in its high-interest accounts. Customers have clamored for a return of their coins as quickly as possible, and have argued that Celsius and its founder, Alex Mashinsky, touted that customers would retain control over their deposits. The immediate impact of a ruling in favor of Celsius would be to allow the company to sell $18 million in stablecoins to fund the expenses for a longer stay in chapter 11. But the firm’s request to sell those stablecoins turns on a more fundamental legal question: What rights do crypto banks, brokerages or exchanges have over their customers’ coins? Ownership rights are spelled out in each firm’s terms of use that customers signed on to, often on their mobile devices with just a few clicks. Bankruptcy courts have only begun to unravel what those terms of use mean for the billions of dollars in cryptocurrencies trapped on insolvent platforms like Celsius, Voyager Digital Holdings Inc. and, more recently, FTX.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. said on Monday it will pay about $168 million by year-end to resolve over 95% of pending claims from owners who alleged the car rental giant filed wrongful theft reports, Reuters reported. Some customers had sued Hertz alleging the police detained or arrested individuals in error after the company reported rental cars were stolen. Hertz, which operates Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty vehicle rental brands, said it will recover a "meaningful" portion of the settlement amount from its insurers. The settlement resolves 364 pending claims from car owners. Hertz said it does not expect the resolution of these claims to have a material impact on its capital return plans for this and next year. The company in October reported a 12% jump in third-quarter revenue, amid strong demand for rental cars. Profit, however, rose just 1% on elevated maintenance costs.