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After suffering a legal defeat in a Texas bankruptcy court and the possibility that one of its board members will appeal the decision, the National Rifle Association has some options moving forward, but bankruptcy experts are skeptical that many of them will turn out well for the gun rights organization, Reuters reported. In a 38-page decision issued on May 11, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale made clear that he did not think the NRA’s January bankruptcy filing was made in good faith. He threw out the chapter 11 case, saying the NRA was trying to use bankruptcy to gain an unfair advantage in a lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James that aims to dissolve the organization. Though the NRA itself has not indicated that it will appeal, a lawyer for one of its board members said during a virtual status conference before Judge Hale on Friday that he was considering an appeal. But overturning Hale’s decision seems unlikely, said Anthony Casey, a bankruptcy and business law professor at the University of Chicago Law School. An appeals court would have to consider “whether he abused his discretion in deciding to dismiss it rather than doing something else like appointing a trustee,” Casey said. “But that would be a very high standard for someone to get the judge reversed on.” The board member, Phillip Journey, who is also a Kansas state judge, had been critical of the manner in which the NRA filed for bankruptcy. The board and many top officials were unaware that CEO Wayne LaPierre was making the move until after the fact. Journey asked Judge Hale to appoint an independent examiner to investigate management, but Hale denied that motion in conjunction with his dismissal of the bankruptcy.

Five years ago, the first of several former Agat altar boys came forward to publicly accuse then-Archbishop Anthony Apuron of sexually abusing him, the Guam Times reported. In five years, there have been nearly 300 Guam clergy sex abuse claims for abuses dating back to the 1960s. The archdiocese's bankruptcy case suspended litigation of the civil cases, but approved compensation to law firms and other professionals has now been estimated at $4.8 million. This includes the nearly $414,000 approved last week for services rendered from Dec. 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021. Two other firms' proposed billings are pending.

Washington Prime Group Inc.’s creditors are having difficulty advancing discussions over a planned chapter 11 filing as groups tussle over dividing the mall owner’s assets, Bloomberg News reported. The slow talks have sparked several deadline extensions -- the latest announced on Wednesday -- with sticking points, including creditors’ rights to assets that aren’t already being used as collateral for Washington Prime’s debt. The company on Monday reported a $55 million loss for the three months through March 31. At issue is the division of new equity, debt and cash each lender group would receive from the bankruptcy plan. Given the diminishing appeal of owning a mall chain, the parties are all pushing to minimize their equity exposure and maximize their take of new debt, they added. After the latest extension, Washington Prime’s forbearance agreements with lenders are set to expire May 19.

A bankruptcy judge cleared the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., to hire Arthur J. Gonzalez as a special mediator to help resolve claims by sex-abuse victims over real estate and other assets that have been sold or transferred to other parts of the institution, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. At a hearing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, Judge Shelley Chapman signed off on a compromise between the Roman Catholic diocese and a panel of abuse survivors that allows for the hiring of Mr. Gonzalez, a former bankruptcy judge, to help resolve disputes over past asset transfers. The Office of the U.S. Trustee, a government watchdog overseeing the bankruptcy system, objected to Gonzalez serving in that position, saying he can’t take an unbiased role in any fight between the diocese and abuse victims, since he was one of three advisers hired by the diocese before it filed for bankruptcy to look into the asset transfers in question. Rockville Centre filed for bankruptcy in October, becoming the largest diocese to seek chapter 11 protection in response to lawsuits by victims of sexual abuse.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., intends to hire a land use planning consultant to help it shed dozens of properties as part of its bankruptcy case, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Consultants with James W. Siebert & Associates, a Santa Fe land planning firm, would be among numerous experts the archdiocese has hired — attorneys, real estate brokers and accountants — drawing accusations from critics of wasteful spending that ultimately will affect payouts to hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. An attorney with the Roman Catholic institution said, however, the experts are needed and that bankruptcy court is the most efficient place for settlements between victims and dioceses. Court records show the archdiocese has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David T. Thuma for approval to hire the Siebert firm. The records say that Siebert can help the archdiocese comply with subdivision statutes and regulations. A court document said the Siebert company would charge $180 an hour if a principal of the firm worked on the case, $120 an hour if an associate worked on it, $95 an hour for a computer-aided designer and $45 an hour each for research and clerical work. An attorney for the archdiocese, Ford Elsaesser, said that real estate issues can involve broken lot lines or lots created long ago. Elsaesser, who is based in Idaho, said he didn’t want to contract properties for sale and then learn a step was missed in the process. “So that’s the reason why they’re being engaged,” Elsaesser said of Siebert. An auctioneer hired by the archdiocese recently began trying to sell 732 properties around Northern New Mexico.

Certain Boy Scouts of America insurers, as well as groups representing former Scouts who say they were sexually abused by Scouting leaders, are challenging the youth organization’s efforts to push through a reorganization plan by the end of the summer, Reuters reported. Despite being on opposite sides of the Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy – with the insurers potentially on the hook for covering sex abuse claims that span decades – Century Indemnity Co. and the official group representing survivors both filed objections to the Boy Scouts’ disclosure materials and related bankruptcy matters on Wednesday. The Boy Scouts, represented by White & Case, filed for bankruptcy in February to address nearly 300 lawsuits accusing leaders of sexual abuse. The objections come about a week ahead of a hearing in which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein will determine whether the Boy Scouts can begin soliciting creditor votes for its proposed reorganization plan. Century, represented by O’Melveny & Myers, argues that the organization has “effectively forfeited” defending itself against potentially fraudulent sex abuse claims.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc. is seeking bankruptcy court approval of a $350 million loan as it restructures in the aftermath of February’s historic winter storm that wiped out power for millions in Texas, Reuters reported. The cooperative, represented by Norton Rose Fulbright, filed a motion to access the loan on Tuesday. A hearing is set for May 18 before Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston to approve its use of up to $150 million of the loan on an interim basis. The judge will take up the full amount of the loan at a later date. Brazos, which is the oldest and largest electric power co-op in Texas, filed for bankruptcy protection in March in the face of a disputed $2.1 billion bill from the state's grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), following the severe cold snap in February. The co-op said that it was in "fantastic financial health" before the storm caused wholesale electricity rates to soar. The loan, provided by a J.P. Morgan Chase Bank-led group of lenders, will fund collateral requirements Brazos must meet with ERCOT. The loan will also fund the co-op's purchases of gas and power on spot and day-ahead markets and provide working capital, according to court papers.

Celebrity chef Chloe Coscarelli is suing investors in the vegan restaurant chain that bears her name for alleged trademark infringement, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Coscarelli and her affiliate companies filed the lawsuit on Monday in federal court in New York against private-equity firm Bain Capital LP’s social impact fund and other investors in By Chloe. Most of the defendants are part of the investor group that bought By Chloe out of bankruptcy earlier this month. However, the lawsuit covers past use of the trademark, before the bankruptcy sale. By Chloe’s then-parent company, BC Hospitality Group Inc., filed for chapter 11 protection in December to ease a sale of the restaurant business. Coscarelli gained fame in 2010 after winning first prize on the Food Network show “Cupcake Wars” at age 22. She co-founded By Chloe, which opened its first location in 2015, but left the chain in 2017, after a dispute with shareholder ESquared Hospitality LLC. For years, she has litigated claims of trademark infringement against the restaurant chain. She has also pursued claims against ESquared Hospitality, but that company wasn’t named as a defendant in Monday’s lawsuit. Coscarelli had agreed to license rights to her name with ESquared Hospitality, subject to certain conditions. She terminated the chain’s license to her name in March 2018. But the chain’s then-parent company, BC Hospitality, continued operating restaurants, websites and social media accounts under the By Chloe brand name, even after it and Ms. Coscarelli parted ways, according to court documents. The investors together contributed more than $30 million that was used for the expansion of By Chloe restaurants, allegedly continuing the infringement of Coscarelli’s trademark rights, according to the complaint.

A Dallas judge has thrown the National Rifle Association out of bankruptcy court, calling into question the gun-rights group’s plan to reincorporate in Texas as it faces allegations of spending abuses and mismanagement in New York, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Harlin Hale of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas dismissed the NRA’s chapter 11 case, ruling that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre filed the January bankruptcy “to gain an unfair litigation advantage” and “to avoid a state regulatory scheme.” Yesterday’s ruling follows arguments by New York Attorney General Letitia James and the NRA’s former ad agency Ackerman McQueen Inc. that the bankruptcy was filed in bad faith and didn’t have a valid purpose. James sued to dissolve the NRA in August, accusing LaPierre and other executives of corruption and financial mismanagement, which LaPierre and the NRA have denied. The New York lawsuit has continued while the NRA has been in chapter 11. James has oversight of the NRA, which has its headquarters in Virginia but was founded in New York in 1871 and is officially domiciled there. James said in a press conference after Tuesday’s ruling that her office continues to pursue its enforcement action against the NRA and that the group can’t reorganize in Texas without approval of the New York state attorney general. In his ruling, Judge Hale said, “The NRA is a solvent and growing organization using this bankruptcy as a tool to win its dissolution lawsuit, and that is not an appropriate use of bankruptcy.”