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The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M., announced in a community letter that the effort to auction 732 properties for a bankruptcy settlement has been delayed, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The Rev. Glennon Jones, vicar general of the archdiocese, said this week in the letter that the auction company doesn’t have a final list of properties because surveyors’ work continues, property titles still need to be acquired or analyzed, and opening prices haven’t been set. Jones suggested that the postponement reflected no setback and the auction would simply be rescheduled. About 385 victims of sexual abuse by archdiocese clergy members have sued, prompting the Archdiocese of Santa Fe to declare bankruptcy three years ago. The archdiocese now seeks to raise money to settle the case, but the amount hasn’t been determined, an attorney for victims said. Numerous Catholic dioceses across the country have filed for bankruptcy because of abuse by priests. Brad Hall, an Albuquerque attorney who represents a number of victims, said the survivors themselves would vote on whether an amount is appropriate. No such vote is imminent.

A landmark trial targeting multiple opioid manufacturers and distributors opened yesterday with lawyers for the government accusing the companies of bringing death and destruction to communities, the Associated Press reported. The case bought by Suffolk and Nassau counties and New York Attorney General Letitia James is part of a slew of litigation over an epidemic linked to nearly 500,000 deaths over the last two decades. But this case is unique in targeting the entire opioid supply chain and for being tried in front of a jury, instead of a judge. The case is being heard in a Long Island law school auditorium to accommodate the multiple defendants and their lawyers. Jayne Conroy, the lawyer for Suffolk County, said in her opening statement that she would try to show how drug makers and distributors had operated in a “parallel universe” from those experiencing the ravages of opioid addiction. Purdue Pharma was initially named in the case, as were some individual members of the Sackler family, before the company filed for bankruptcy. Cases against Purdue, Mallinckrodt, and Rochester Drug Cooperative are all now moving separately through U.S. Bankruptcy Court, according to James’ office. Defendants in the suit included Endo Health Solutions and its affiliates; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and its affiliates; Allergan Finance, LLC and its affiliates McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and Amerisource Bergen Drug Corporation, according the attorney general’s office. Defendants say the claims are overly broad and their culpability cannot be proven, according to court documents. James announced Saturday that one defendant, Johnson & Johnson, agreed in an 11th-hour settlement to pay the state up to $230 million to stop manufacturing or distributing opioids.

Brazos Electric Power Cooperative is seeking an additional four months to maintain control of its bankruptcy case, saying that recently enacted laws aimed at mitigating the financial fallout of February’s winter storm in Texas have complicated its restructuring efforts, Reuters reported. In court papers filed on Monday, the co-op asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones

Bankrupt mall owner Washington Prime Group Inc. is drawing interest from real estate investment trust RPT Realty Inc. after soliciting purchase bids as part of its “dual path” bankruptcy process, Bloomberg News reported. RPT Realty, which owns about 50 shopping centers across the U.S., is assessing Washington Prime’s properties as part of the mall owner’s chapter 11 restructuring, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private negotiations. Washington Prime said at the time of its bankruptcy filing June 14 that it was already “in discussions with several potentially interested parties,” regarding a sale. The company said that it was exploring bids even after filing a restructuring plan to the bankruptcy court that would see it hand ownership shares to its unpaid creditors in a debt-for-equity swap. Its shares were trading around $2.42 Tuesday morning, down from around $5.00 ahead of the filing. Its plan provides a potential recovery of about 83 cents for common share holders.

The lending arm of JMB Capital Partners has emerged as the lead bidder to take over a retail leasehold for the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in northern Manhattan, offering $43.5 million to acquire the lease from its bankrupt developers, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. JMB Capital Partners Lending LLC stepped in after the previous lead bidder, Monarch Alternative Capital LP, hit an impasse in negotiations with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over closing conditions related to the lease, according to court papers filed on Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. The offer is a stalking-horse bid that puts a floor on the leasehold’s price, subject to better offers. JMB is offering a mix of cash as well as loan forgiveness, according to court documents. At least $17 million will be put in escrow to cure any defaults to the ground lease; the offer includes a closing payment of up to $8.5 million in cash. JMB would also forgive amounts owed under a bankruptcy loan the investment firm provided to development consortium George Washington Bridge Bus Station Development Venture LLC to fund its bankruptcy case, according to court papers. The development consortium sought chapter 11 protection in October 2019, facing cost overruns in its overhaul of the bus station and a dispute with contractor Tutor Perini Corp. The bankruptcy case has lasted longer than anticipated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring the consortium take out an $18 million credit line after seeking court protection.

The reopening of a bankrupt downtown San Jose hotel that’s been closed since March in the wake of the coronavirus has landed in limbo after a judge’s ruling, the East Bay Times reported. A set of decisions by a bankruptcy judge enables the start of an arbitration proceeding to resolve a dispute between the bankrupt Fairmont San Jose hotel’s owner and the iconic lodging’s operators. “It is likely that a decision will be made by the arbitrator at the end of the next 5 to 6 months, essentially by the end of the year,” said Sam Singer, a spokesperson for the group that owns the double-tower hotel in downtown San Jose. That in turn has left the date and circumstances under which the hotel can reopen up in the air. “We do not have a firm date on the property’s reopening,” Singer said. The 805-room Fairmont San Jose shut its doors in March, around the same time that the hotel’s owners, a group led by business executive Sam Hirbod, filed for a chapter 11 bankruptcy to attempt to reorganize the hotels’ shattered finances. In May, the ownership group picked Hilton Hotels & Resorts as the new manager and operator. “The Hilton bid contemplates that the hotel will assume the name ‘Signia by Hilton San Jose’ or another name that includes ‘Signia’ in it and that it will be managed by Hilton upon its reopening,” bankruptcy court records show. Court papers show that Hilton has agreed to inject about $45.8 million in financing to help stabilize the hotel. JPMorgan Chase Bank has also agreed to provide another $25 million in funding for the hotel to assist its emergence from bankruptcy.

Nine Point Energy Holdings Inc's lenders must put up cash or a letter of credit to protect a midstream services provider’s interests in certain assets before they can move forward with a proposed $250 million purchase of the bankrupt energy company, a judge ruled on Monday, Reuters reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath in Wilmington, Delaware, issued her ruling during a virtual hearing that Caliber Midstream Partners LP has statutory liens on certain assets related to around $7.1 million in claims. However, she rejected Caliber’s assertion that it has liens backing Caliber’s larger $150 million claim against Nine Point. The dispute has delayed Nine Point’s efforts to sell its assets to its lenders via a bankruptcy sale. Nine Point had around $273 million in debt when it sought chapter 11 protection in March. The Denver-based company, which blamed its financial trouble on the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-OPEC oil price war, is approaching a July 8 deadline to sell its assets under its loan agreement with the lenders. Its exploration and production services are focused in North Dakota and Montana. Caliber argues that Nine Point can’t go through with the sale to lenders unless Caliber receives adequate protection of its liens, which largely stem from oil and gas gathering, processing and transporting services it provided Nine Point. At the conclusion of Monday’s hearing, Caliber attorney Kevin Barrett rejected an offer from the lenders to assume the liability, with a cap of $7.1 million, for the exact amount the court ultimately deems the valid claims to be worth — which she did not do as part of her ruling. Judge Walrath agreed with Barrett, saying that the lenders need to either set aside some money in escrow, issue a letter of credit or grant a replacement lien for Caliber. “It’s not enough to promise to pay a claim in the future,” she said. Lawyers for the parties will return to Judge Walrath’s virtual hearing on Tuesday to determine how to proceed.

Two years after Hahnemann University Hospital went bankrupt, the legal war over proceeds from the eventual sale of the hulking Center City property is heating up, with an early skirmish expected at a Wednesday court hearing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The latest conflict arises from the split of the Hahnemann and St. Christopher’s real estate from the hospitals, which filed for chapter 11 protection starting on June 30, 2019. The real estate was kept out of the bankruptcy. Some saw that split as an insidious move by Joel Freedman, the California businessman who paid $170 million — all of it borrowed — in 2018 for Hahnemann and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, to ensure that he would make money no matter what. First, Freedman agreed to court-approved mediation that could lead to some of the money from the sale of real estate going to businesses left with unpaid bills after the bankruptcy. Creditors have filed $8.5 billion in claims in the bankruptcy — though unduplicated claims are likely to be less than $300 million, a filing said. It’s too early to say how much money has been collected to pay those claims. And now, Freedman’s partner and major lender, Harrison Street Real Estate, wants to participate in the talks among the bankrupt business shells, unsecured creditors, and Freedman. Without Harrison Street’s participation, mediation “is doomed to fail” because it would have to approve any agreement, the Chicago real estate investment firm said in a filing. It’s unclear how much the Hahnemann buildings that Freedman owns will sell for because they are in poor condition, making them a costly redevelopment project. Lawyers for the bankrupt shell of Hahnemann have opposed the participation of Harrison Street in talks with Freedman, arguing that Harrison Street’s participation would slow progress, especially given that Harrison Street has refused to provide any documents during the unsecured creditors’ investigation of the original deal. Freedman has said that Harrison Street should participate in the talks. The dispute is scheduled for an online hearing Wednesday before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath in Wilmington.

The 177-acre property once heralded for a sports dome, lake, hotel and campground has been acquired by the city of Portage, Ind., after it fell into foreclosure, the Post-Tribune reported. The Portage Redevelopment Commission bought the property for $6.6 million at an auction last week during a Porter County Sheriff’s sale. In 2015, the RDC agreed to sell the property, located north of Interstate 94 and west of Indiana 149 just west of the Ameriplex complex, to Catalyst Lifestyles Sport Resort LLC for $6 million. Catalyst was expected to pay the city $600,000 over 10 years. The developers made two payments on the property, but were plagued by financial and development issues, which halted the project. Infrastructure problems with NIPSCO right of way utility towers and plans for an overpass from U.S. 12 to Indiana 249 slowed progress. The partners in the development took each other to court and then filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Two bankruptcy attempts were dismissed by a judge. Meanwhile, the developers never paid taxes on the property, owing about $63,000. The RDC foreclosed on the loan and the state named a receiver last year. The receiver tried to market the property, but was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The RDC was the lone bidder on the property at last week’s auction.