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PG&E to Plead Guilty to 84 Involuntary Manslaughter Counts over 2018 Wildfire

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Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to plead guilty to 84 involuntary manslaughter counts in connection with the 2018 Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California’s history, Reuters reported. The plea by California’s largest utility was announced yesterday by its parent PG&E Corp., three days after the utility accepted tighter oversight and pledged billions of dollars to improve safety and help wildfire victims, under an agreement California Governor Gavin Newsom (D). That agreement ended a major roadblock to PG&E’s planned emergence from chapter 11 bankruptcy, as Newsom devotes his attention to the coronavirus outbreak in his state. Pacific Gas & Electric said that it entered its plea through a March 17 agreement with the Butte County District Attorney’s office, which would end all state criminal proceedings against the San Francisco-based company related to the Camp Fire. The fire began on Nov. 8, 2018, and destroyed much of the town of Paradise, which had about 26,000 people, and nearby Concow. More than 18,000 buildings were destroyed. PG&E also pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully starting a fire.
 

USA Gymnastics Bankruptcy Hearing Put on Hold Because of COVID-19

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A highly anticipated hearing on USA Gymnastics proposed $217 million settlement with sexual abuse survivors has been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orange County (Calif.) Register reported. Judge Robyn L. Moberly of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District Indiana issued an indefinite continuance for the hearing originally scheduled for March 31. Judge Moberly also extended the period in which USA Gymnastics can file its chapter 11 reorganization plan to June 2 and the period it can solicit approval of that plan to July 28. “It is currently unknown when in-person testimony and argument will be safely heard in the courtroom,” Judge Moberly wrote. The hearing was on the 77-page disclosure statement USA Gymnastics filed with the court last month that outlined the organization’s widely criticized settlement proposal.

PG&E Bankruptcy Is Nearing an End after Deal Reached with California Governor

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The biggest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history appears to be drawing to a close after PG&E Corp. reached a deal with California Governor Gavin Newsom over the company’s restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. The agreement calls for PG&E to put itself up for sale if the bankruptcy court doesn’t approve its plan by June 30 or if the company fails to emerge from chapter 11 by the end of the year, according to a statement on Friday. The deal also requires the embattled utility to overhaul its board and submit to additional state oversight. PG&E has struggled for months to craft a reorganization proposal that would satisfy both creditors and state officials after filing for chapter 11 last year facing $30 billion in damages from wildfires blamed on its power lines. The consent from Newsom, who objected to earlier versions of PG&E’s turnaround plan, greatly boosts the odds the utility will exit bankruptcy by a state deadline of June 30.

Producer, Actors Lose Appeal in Weinstein Co. Bankruptcy

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A federal judge in Delaware has rejected an appeal by the producer and stars of the film "Silver Linings Playbook" stemming from a ruling in The Weinstein Co. bankruptcy case, the Associated Press reported. The judge on Friday upheld the bankruptcy court's decision in a lawsuit filed against producer Bruce Cohen by Spyglass Media Group. Spyglass bought The Weinstein Co.'s assets in bankruptcy for $289 million in 2018. The suit against Cohen was seen as a test case to determine how to handle claims asserted by several Hollywood stars who said they were owed royalties and profit participation payments from various film and television projects. Spyglass sought and received a court ruling that Cohen's production contract for "Silver Linings" was not executory, meaning that Spyglass was not liable for any prior contingent compensation obligations under the contract and that it purchased the rights to the film free and clear. Cohen appealed the ruling, joined by actors Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro and director David O. Russell. The Directors Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of America West filed a brief in support of the appellants. The district court judge ruled on Friday that the Weinstein Co. had acquired the rights to the film long ago and could thus sell those rights to Spyglass free and clear of all claims as part of the bankruptcy asset sale.