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Casual dining chain Ruby said on Wednesday it had emerged from bankruptcy, nearly five months after it filed for chapter 11 protection as restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic halted dine-in operations, Reuters reported. The restaurant chain, known for its classic American burgers and steaks, said the bankruptcy allowed it to shed liabilities, including leases from closed locations that were impacted by the health crisis and focus on 209 company-owned locations. “Ruby Tuesday is a healthier company now and is positioned to be more efficient, competitive and stable for the future,” Chief Executive Officer Shawn Lederman said. The company said it would focus on developing “delivery-only” brands and increase its off-premise presence, as consumers still wary of contracting the virus choose to order online and have food delivered to their doorstep. The chain, founded nearly half a century ago, had struggled even before the pandemic due to increasing competition and as fewer people chose to dine at full-service restaurants.

A suburban Chicago senior living retirement facility is on track to exit bankruptcy next month — for the second time — with creditor voting now underway and conduit issuer approval for its restructuring bonds in hand, Bond Buyer reported. The restructuring gives the facility more breathing room by requiring bondholders to take a haircut and wait longer to recoup their investment. The Park Place of Elmhurst, in the western Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in December after reaching agreement on a restructuring with holders of a majority of principal from the $141 million remaining from $146 million of bonds issued in 2016 through the Illinois Finance Authority. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit many retirement communities hard, hasn’t helped the facility’s fiscal woes but it’s not blamed for the restructuring, its second since opening in 2012. Park Place, which has 300 residents, has fared well compared to many peers. The 2016 bonds were issued to exit its previous bankruptcy in exchange for the remaining principal from the initial $175.5 million unrated 2010 issue. The court approved the facility’s disclosure statement at a hearing late last month and the IFA signed off on the restructuring bonds at its monthly meeting earlier this month. Creditor voting, which includes bondholders, ends March 5 and a confirmation hearing is set for March 16 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, according to trustee filings.

Federal Judiciary officials have asked Congress for $8.12 billion to fund judicial branch operations for fiscal year 2022. The request includes funding to keep pace with inflationary and other budget adjustments, and to pay for program increases, including projected workload changes, courthouse security, cybersecurity, and new magistrate judges, according to a press release. The request in discretionary appropriations represents an overall $403 million increase, or 5.2 percent, above the FY 2021 enacted level. Judge John W. Lungstrum, chair of the Judicial Conference Committee on the Budget, and Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, made the request yesterday while testifying before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. In her testimony, Mauskopf outlined branch-wide priorities that the Administrative Office is supporting, including employee diversity and inclusion, workplace conduct protections, and growing judicial security needs for federal judges and U.S. court facilities. Mauskopf asked for $100.3 million for the AO, a 4.9 percent increase. The pandemic resulted in double-digit declines in 2020 in criminal filings (-11 percent) and bankruptcy filings (-12 percent). “The Judiciary projects that criminal and bankruptcy workload will rebound in 2021, with each increasing nearly 4 percent,” Lungstrum said. Court-appointed defense representations in the Judiciary’s defender services program are also expected to increase.

Fry’s Electronics is going out of business. KRON4 has confirmed that the iconic Bay Area retailer is permanently closing the doors of all stores nationwide. "After nearly 36 years in business as the one-stop-shop and online resource for high-tech professionals across nine states and 31 stores, Fry’s Electronics, Inc., has made the difficult decision to shut down its operations and close its business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic," the company said in a statement. The company ceased regular operations and began the wind-down process yesterday. Fry’s has more than two dozen stores mainly across California and Texas. There are six stores in Northern California, eight in Southern California, eight in Texas, two in Arizona, and one store each in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

A tsunami of fraudulent unemployment claims sweeping the nation has cost states and the federal government tens of billions of dollars in payments, many to overseas crime syndicates and nefarious hackers who have gained access to Americans’ Social Security numbers and other identifying information, The Hill reported. The scope of the crisis is not yet known, though the early estimates are eye-popping: California officials have identified at least $11.4 billion in fraudulent claims, and they suspect another $20 billion may be fraudulent. New York officials have referred more than 400,000 fraudulent claims to federal investigators, totaling $5.5 billion in claims, most of which were caught before they were paid. In Ohio, more than 100,000 people have reported potential fraudulent activity in their names to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio and Michigan officials each estimated the potential fraud cost their states hundreds of millions of dollars. Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment has flagged more than a million applications for benefits as potential fraud. Maryland has identified a quarter million phony claims. Massachusetts reported last year it had paid out $242 million in improper claims.

Senior executives from more than 150 companies are voicing support for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package in a letter to congressional leaders urging them to pass coronavirus relief, Bloomberg News reported. The letter is signed by leaders across industries, including David Solomon, chairman and chief executive officer at Goldman Sachs; Stephen Schwartzman, the chairman and CEO of Blackstone; Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google; and John Stankey the CEO of AT&T. “We write to urge immediate and large-scale federal legislation to address the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the executives wrote in the letter. “Congress should act swiftly and on a bipartisan basis to authorize a stimulus and relief package along the lines of the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed American Rescue Plan.” The letter’s signatories included several past supporters of former President Donald Trump, including Schwartzman, one of the biggest contributors to Trump’s re-election bid from the world of high finance, and New York real estate magnate Richard LeFrak. Biden’s bill includes a range of spending measures, including for distributing vaccines, reopening schools, support for state and local governments and the direct payments that the president promised during the campaign season. Democrats are moving forward with the bill despite not having much support from Republicans, who have called the measure too expensive and unnecessarily broad.

Department store chain Belk Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, commencing an ultra-quick timetable intended to lift the Sycamore Partners-owned company out of chapter 11 within around 24 hours, the Wall Street Journal reported. Belk is scheduled to appear today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston to seek confirmation of a restructuring strategy that creditors have already voted unanimously to support. The chapter 11 proposal, announced last month, would trim $450 million in debt from the company’s balance sheet and provide a $225 million capital infusion, supplied by Belk lenders and its private-equity owner Sycamore. The planned restructuring will keep Belk majority owned by Sycamore, a retail specialist that has controlled the company since 2015. With nearly 300 stores, mostly in the Southeast, Belk generated $3.8 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended November, according to Moody’s Investors Service. As of last month, the company was carrying $1.9 billion in debt. Since 2019, three other sizable companies — retailer FullBeauty Brands Inc., information-technology provider Sungard Availability Services and oil-and-gas company Sheridan Holding Co. I LLC — have filed for bankruptcy and secured court approval of their restructurings by the next day, cutting down on administrative fees from longer stays in chapter 11.

Mall owner Macerich Co. tapped PJT Partners Inc. for help managing its debt load as pandemic-related closures and retailer bankruptcies crimp its cash flows, Bloomberg News reported. PJT, an investment bank with specialties including debt restructuring, will advise the real estate investment trust on options for a $1.5 billion revolving credit facility that comes due in July. The REIT’s shares fell more than 5% to as low as $12.66 after Bloomberg reported the hire. The stock closed at $13.15. Macerich is grappling with some of the same liquidity problems hitting mall owners across the U.S. During government-mandated closures last year, many tenants withheld rent, creating a $52 billion revenue hole for retail-related property owners as of November, according to CoStar Group Inc. The stock briefly caught the attention of online day traders, who sent shares surging to more than $22 last month in a bid to squeeze short sellers. As more retailers succumb to bankruptcy, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for landlords to fill their spaces at sustainable rents. Macerich recently extended the maturities on three of its mall loans, pushing out more than $300 million of debt until at least 2022, according to company filings. 

The Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn filed for bankruptcy as the effects from the pandemic continue to roll through the hospitality industry, Bloomberg News reported. 96 Wythe Acquisition LLC, the entity that owns the hotel backed by Heritage Equity Partners, listed assets and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million in its chapter 11 petition filed in White Plains, New York. The boutique hotel is located in an area of Brooklyn which surged in popularity and rapidly gentrified over the last decade, offering views of Manhattan and some of the best restaurants and shopping in the borough. Benefit Street Partners, the credit firm owned by Franklin Templeton, is one of its largest creditors with a $68 million disputed claim, according to bankruptcy papers. The Williamsburg Hotel is the latest Heritage property to restructure, with 232 Seigel Acquisition LLC, a hotel development in Bushwick, seeking bankruptcy last year. Heritage Equity Partners, led by Toby Moskovits, owns a mix of residential and office projects in Brooklyn.