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New York-based Roman Catholic dioceses that filed for chapter 11 protection to address child sex abuse lawsuits are fueling tensions by asking bankruptcy courts for a victims’ claim filing window that’s shorter than what survivors were given under a recently enacted state law, Bloomberg Law reported. New York’s Child Victims Act, signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in 2019, has spurred a flood of abuse lawsuits against the church and other organizations. Victims have filed more than 4,800 lawsuits against alleged abusers and institutions that harbored or concealed them, state court records show. Four of New York’s eight local dioceses — Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, and Long Island’s Rockville Centre — have filed chapter 11, allowing them to ease the burden of litigation by consolidating victims’ lawsuits against them and negotiating with claimants as a single class. Dealing with shortened deadlines could cause stress for victims and suppress their legal rights in emotionally charged, controversial cases, victims’ proponents say. The New York law allows child sex abuse victims to sue at any time before they turn 55 and creates a temporary window — until Aug. 14, 2021 — to file claims that previously were blocked by the statute of limitations. The Bankruptcy Code, on the other hand, allows debtors to give as little as 21 days’ notice of an upcoming deadline to submit claims in a bankruptcy proceeding. None of the dioceses in chapter 11 have argued for that bare minimum. But they all say the bankruptcy court shouldn’t align the notice period with the CVA’s expansive time frame. Bankruptcy judges have recognized the unique nature of sex abuse-related cases. “This case is not like a typical commercial filing, in which the debtor can readily identify from its books and ledgers all of the actual and disputed trade creditors,” Judge Carl L. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York observed in a September opinion in the Buffalo diocese’s case. By reopening the statute of limitations, New York “expressed a policy decision that deserves the respect of this court,” he said.

Steak ’n Shake Inc. is considering filing for bankruptcy to address upcoming debt maturities as pandemic disruptions to the restaurant business drag on, Bloomberg News reported. Advisers including FTI Consulting Inc. and the law firm Latham & Watkins are prepared to put the Indianapolis-based chain into chapter 11 as soon as next week, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential plans. The burger chain earlier enlisted advisers to help it manage its debt load, which includes a loan due in March. The potential plans for a bankruptcy could change, and the company has also discussed out-of-court solutions. Steak ’n Shake’s parent company, Biglari Holdings Inc., has said it won’t guarantee the chain’s loan maturing in March, though it acknowledged the company would otherwise struggle to either pay off or refinance the debt. Steak ’n Shake, known for its burgers and milkshakes, was founded in 1934 in Normal, Illinois. The chain has more than 500 locations in 28 states, with concentrations in the Midwest and the South.

Satellite operator Intelsat SA said on Friday it has filed a restructuring plan backed by some of its creditors, in a bid to reduce debt and emerge from bankruptcy in the second half of the year, Reuters reported. The plan aims to reduce debt by more than half to $7 billion and has the support of holders of about $3.8 billion of its debt, the company said. It has sought a hearing on Mar. 17 for a court approval to solicit votes on the plan. The company filed for chapter 11 protection in May last year, hit by the COVID-19 pandemic that inflicted widespread financial pain across sectors, including retail and aviation. Intelsat is one of the companies that will participate in the accelerated clearing of C-band spectrum under the Federal Communications Commission order to support a build-out of 5G wireless infrastructure in the United States.

Chicago’s Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, the oldest chartered hospital in the city, has had financial problems since the 1990s, culminating in a bankruptcy filing Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. Its story is emblematic of the challenges facing its patients and a large swathe of U.S. hospitals also struggling to survive. Mercy, a fixture on Chicago’s South Side, takes on sicker people than some of its competitors, and many of its patients lack private insurance that reimburses at higher rates. It’s also suffered as more treatment moves outside hospitals. Mercy sought court protection after Illinois health officials rejected a plan to close the hospital and replace it with an outpatient center. Even before the pandemic slammed hospitals, forcing them to pay up for protective equipment and cancel many profitable elective procedures, the divide between centers like Mercy and richer facilities was widening. “Hospitals in surrounding areas have made investments in outpatient services, which, along with new and updated facilities, allowed them to dominate positive consumer opinions in the market and siphon off commercial patients, Medicare patients and outpatients,” Chief Executive Officer Carol Garikes Schneider, who’s run the hospital since 2013, said in a court filing on Thursday. Felicia Gerber Perlman, who co-heads the bankruptcy and restructuring group at law firm McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago and isn’t involved in the case, said Mercy’s bankruptcy could herald a wave of similar filings among providers in lower-income, urban areas. Those hospitals share some challenges with rural facilities that have seen revenues and patient bases shrink. Mercy’s patients suffer “disproportionately” from chronic diseases that would benefit from early detection and monitoring in an outpatient setting, Schneider said in the filing that detailed years-long efforts to save the institution.

The Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota says it has reached a $21.5 million settlement with 145 individuals who were sexually abused by its clergy members, ABC News reported. It is the last Catholic diocese in the state to settle its abuse claims, filed in response to a 2013 law that temporarily extended the statute of limitations on abuse cases. The diocese was one of five in Minnesota that had filed for chapter 11 protection in response to abuse claims against its priests. The settlement, announced on Wednesday, allows the diocese to submit a financial reorganization plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for final approval. The dioceses of St. Cloud, New Ulm and Duluth and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have emerged from bankruptcy.

Offshore drilling rig contractor Seadrill has filed for bankruptcy protection at a U.S. court, it said on Wednesday, the second time in four years the company has entered into a chapter 11 restructuring, Reuters reported. The Oslo-listed group controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen returned to court along with several subsidiaries after failing to win consent from bank lenders to postpone payments on $5.7 billion of debts. Its total debts and liabilities stood at $7.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2020. “This announcement marks the start of the court supervised process that will create a company that is financially sustainable for the long term,” Chief Executive Stuart Jackson said in a statement.

The National Rifle Association’s former advertising agency requested that the gun group’s bankruptcy case be tossed out, saying it was filed in bad faith, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Ackerman McQueen Inc., which spearheaded the NRA’s ad campaigns for decades before getting caught up in a battle for control of the organization, is now the biggest unsecured creditor in the chapter 11 proceedings. Ackerman filed papers yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas asking that the bankruptcy case be dismissed on the grounds that it amounts to an improper effort to gain a litigation advantage over the New York state authorities that have sued to break up the NRA. “It’s a disappointing, but predictable, response from a terminated vendor and defendant in litigation involving significant claims of wrongdoing,” said Michael J. Collins, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. “Ackerman McQueen continues to attack the NRA and its advisors to deflect from the allegations against the agency. We will continue to operate within the parameters of the bankruptcy court — to the benefit of the NRA, its members, and its vendors.” The filing comes on the heels of a motion by a member of the NRA’s board, Phillip Journey, who asked for the appointment of an examiner “to bring to light the veracity of the alleged fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, and gross mismanagement that has plagued the NRA’s reputation.” At a court hearing yesterday, Judge Harlin Hale said that he had decided not to read any news accounts of the NRA’s high-profile bankruptcy, which is still in the early stages. Journey’s motion said last month’s bankruptcy filing was a surprise to one or more directors on the NRA board. In a statement, NRA lawyer William A. Brewer said Journey was mistaken in suggesting the bankruptcy filing was the product of a flawed process. Ackerman’s critique argues the NRA is improperly using bankruptcy to escape a raft of litigation that the NRA itself initiated, as well as official enforcement proceedings that threaten to expose financial wrongdoing, including by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Mercy Hospital and Medical Centers filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday just months before the historic Bronzeville, Ill., hospital is expected to shutter its doors for good, the Chicago Sun Times reported. Mercy, which is owned by Trinity Health, still plans to cease operations of all its departments — other than basic emergency services — May 31. The controversial hospital closure is on the agenda for the Illinois Health Facilities & Services Review Board meeting on Mar. 16. In a statement, Mercy, the city’s first hospital, said that it was losing staff and experiencing “mounting financial losses” which challenged its ability to maintain a safe environment. The hospital lost more than $30.2 million in the first six months of the fiscal year, averaging about $5 million per month, the statement said. In debt of more than $303.2 million over the last seven fiscal years, the hospital said a minimum capital investment of over $100 million was needed for it to safely carry on its services. The chapter 11 bankruptcy filing news comes two weeks after a state review board rejected Trinity Health’s proposal to open an urgent care and diagnostic center on the South Side. The same board unanimously rejected a plan in December to close Mercy.

Marriott International Inc. was denied its request to move the chapter 11 case of a Washington, D.C., hotel to the nation’s capital, with a bankruptcy judge saying the property’s venue choice should carry significant weight and that in this case a transfer was unnecessary, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Marriott Wardman Park, which the hotel chain had managed, sought protection from creditors in January in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The 1,152-room property’s secured lender and sole owner is Pacific Life Insurance Co. One of Marriott’s arguments was that other bankruptcy cases involving a single real estate property have been moved near to their location. Bankruptcy Judge John Dorsey said yesterday that those cases involved real estate businesses with significant day-to-day operations and many employees.