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The New York Times Co. is suing the Weinstein Co. for failing to pay for print advertisements that ran in the national and New York editions of the newspaper, according to a legal complaint filed yesterday. The Times said that the film studio owed it $229,567.68, according to the complaint, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court. The advertisements featured Weinstein Company films including “Tulip Fever,” “Wind River” and “Leap!” It is not uncommon for The Times to turn to the courts to extract payment from advertisers. The news organization has filed 27 such collection actions in court this year. “This is routine business, being handled in the normal manner,” The Times said in a statement. The complaint was filed a day after The Times published its latest investigation into the film mogul Harvey Weinstein, the co-founder of the Weinstein Company who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct, including rape. Read more. 

One of the worst outcomes for a business owner is having a major customer file for bankruptcy and leave behind a large unpaid account receivable. ABI's Business Creditor’s Guide to Distressed Vendors, Debt Collection and Bankruptcy provides an insider’s look into the options available to help screen a business’s customers, plan for worst-case scenarios, and, if the situation does arrive, efficiently handle the fallout. 

Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., one of America’s biggest gaming companies, will pay more than $160 million to a half-dozen firms for their services during its nearly three-year stay in chapter 11 that ended in October, the American Lawyer reported. The final bills, made available in a summary court filing on Tuesday, still require approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar of the Northern District of Illinois. The payments to outside firms have slowed within the past year as the bankruptcy drew to a close, as previously reported by the American Lawyer. The biggest winner in the bankruptcy that shed roughly $10 billion in Caesars’ corporate debt is Kirkland & Ellis, which billed for $76.9 million in fees in its role as lead counsel to the company. Winston & Strawn, which last year wrapped up its work as legal counsel for examiner Richard Davis, billed a total of $30.6 million. Davis, a former Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner and member of the Watergate Special Prosecution, was investigating whether the parent company of Caesars stripped the operating company of profitable assets before it filed for bankruptcy. That report said Caesars could be liable for up to $5 billion in damages for the reshuffling, although a deal was struck to avoid litigation on that front. Proskauer Rose billed $28.7 million in legal fees representing a committee of unsecured creditors. Jones Day billed another $25.1 million for its work on behalf of a group of second-lien junior bondholders.

An independent examiner’s report made public on Tuesday recommended further investigation into the finances of Shepherd University, a nonprofit Christian college in Los Angeles, and opened the door to future lawsuits against the university’s founder, former officers and board members, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. In a 120-page report filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, Mark Hashimoto, the court-approved examiner, said he “struggled to find any semblance of regular management” of the California school and said its reorganization is unlikely. Shepherd began experiencing financial trouble in 2014, failing to pay taxes and taking on high-interest, short-term loans to keep its doors open, according to the report. Eventually, the high financing costs, continued spending and dwindling donations caught up with the university, which sought chapter 11 protection August. Hashimoto’s report is based on an analysis of available financial documentation as well as interviews with former managers and board members. However, Hashimoto, who was appointed examiner in October, says the university had essentially “no accounting internal controls or cash procedures.” Bank statements and cancelled checks for 2014, 2015 and much of 2016 were nowhere to be found, and Hashimoto said that Shepherd has not been keeping track of debts it continues to accrue while in bankruptcy.

Major creditors of Westinghouse Electric Co. say they are concerned that their interests are taking a back seat to corporate parent Toshiba Corp., as company advisers solicit bids for the business, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. A committee representing Westinghouse unsecured claimholders filed an objection on Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that criticizes how the company has moved the restructuring forward and claims the committee to date has “scarcely been involved” in negotiating the terms of a potential chapter 11 plan. Now, the committee is asking a judge for the authority to file a competing chapter 11 plan, if necessary, so that creditors can take control of the Westinghouse sale process. The committee said that a shake-up is needed because Toshiba is under pressure to complete “a quickie deal to recognize tax losses” and that Westinghouse management “has no motivation to maximize value for creditors.”

Level Solar, a Manhattan-based provider of rooftop solar power, filed for chapter 11 protection on Monday, citing debts in excess of $5 million, Newsday reported. The company listed assets of between $50 million and $100 million, and more than 200 creditors. Among the creditors was Hauppauge, N.Y.-based Cooper Electric Supply Co., its primary electric equipment and parts supplier, which is owed more than $4.5 million, according to the filing in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Level Solar sought bankruptcy court approval to hire a forensic accounting firm to look into “potential financial and other misconduct” of a former company official “and possibly others,” according to the filing.

Southern Co. said an accelerated timetable for receiving the remaining $3.2 billion in parental guarantees from Toshiba Corp. for two reactors under construction in Georgia will help its case to continue with the project, Bloomberg News reported. Southern’s Georgia Power unit, which owns a 46 percent stake in the Vogtle plant, will get about $1.47 billion of the total. The project owners, which include Oglethorpe Power Corp., Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities, have received $455 million so far from Toshiba. Southern said that Toshiba will provide the remaining payments by Dec. 15, according to a statement Tuesday by the Atlanta-based company. Under an earlier agreement, Toshiba would have spread out the payments through 2020 after its Westinghouse Electric Co. unit backed out of the project after filing for bankruptcy in March. 

Auto-parts maker Takata Corp. moved a step closer Tuesday to a $1.58 billion sale to Key Safety Systems, a deal it needs to complete to make good on a Justice Department settlement over its defective air bags, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Judge Brendan Shannon approved a restructuring-support agreement that locks in backing for the deal from major car makers, which are Takata’s biggest customers and, in many cases, co-defendants with the Japanese company in lawsuits over air-bag damages. The sale to Key is the core of the chapter 11 bankruptcy plan designed to resolve damage claims stemming from exploding air bags, which have been linked to a number of deaths and injuries worldwide, and forced the largest recall effort in U.S. automotive history. Claims for personal or economic injury due to the air bags drove Takata to bankruptcy. The sale to Key preserves part of the business, the lines that weren’t involved in the air-bag troubles. Creditors must vote upon the chapter 11 plan itself, which must in turn also be approved by Judge Shannon. Bankruptcy plan hearings are scheduled to start early next year in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., where Takata sought bankruptcy protection.

A New York bankruptcy judge delivered an unambiguous rebuke of Aurelius Capital Management LP’s litigation strategy in the complex and contentious international restructuring of Brazilian telecom giant Oi SA, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. In a decision handed down on Monday, Judge Sean Lane of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York declined to recognize a chapter 15 U.S. bankruptcy proceeding launched earlier this year by an Oi affiliate based in the Netherlands. The judge said that Aurelius “weaponized” the Dutch affiliate to attack Oi’s broader restructuring goals. “In sum, the strategy pursued by Aurelius in these cases is a troubling one that the court refuses to countenance,” Judge Lane wrote. “Aurelius’ actions also reflect a lack of candor before the court,” he added.

Toys ‘R’ Us won court approval on Tuesday for plan to pay top executives up to $21 million in bonuses by arguing that the money will incentivize them to boost the bankrupt retailer’s sales during the critical year-end shopping season, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips approved the bonus plan over an objection by the U.S. Trustee, a government bankruptcy watchdog, after Toys ‘R’ Us advisers called the payments reasonable. Under the Toys ‘R’ Us plan, 17 eligible executives would split about $21 million if earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization for this fiscal year reach $641 million. Toys ‘R’ Us attorney Joshua Sussberg called the target “incredibly hard to achieve.” Executives would split about $14 million if earnings reach $550 million. The terms were revised after a complaint from unsecured creditors, who ultimately backed the plan. The U.S. Trustee blasted the proposal, saying that five of the potential recipients split $8.2 million in retention bonuses a week before the Sept. 19 bankruptcy filing, and noted other salary perks for Toys ‘R’ Us Chief Executive David Brandon such as aircraft and limousine use.

Vitamin World, a Holbrook, N.J.-based retail chain that filed for bankruptcy protection in September, has received a $26 million cash bid from Latium Enterprises to acquire its remaining 150 or so stores, according to court filings made on Friday, Newsday reported. The bid envisions keeping workers at some Vitamin World stores in their jobs, according to the filings. Latium is also based in Holbrook and is engaged in financing, consulting, manufacturing and commercial property ownership and management, among other businesses, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The bid from Latium is subject to higher bids at a court-supervised auction.