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A bankruptcy judge yesterday ordered "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice and the trustee representing her creditors into mediation, putting to rest — for now — the trustee's calls to hold Giudice in contempt of court for allegedly failing to pony up financial records, NJ.com reported yesterday. But Giudice's lawyer Anthony Rainone disputes reports that the reality show star failed to turn over the requested records. The reality star's attorneys filed an objection to the trustee's subpoena, saying it was "served for no other reason than to harass Ms. Giudice." However, Rainone says that as a condition of mandatory mediation, Giudice will turn over "certain documents" to trustee John Sywilok. Sywilok is the lawyer who successfully sought to reopen Giudice's bankruptcy proceedings earlier this year in light of her potentially lucrative legal malpractice lawsuit against the attorney who represented her in her 2009 bankruptcy proceeding. Sywilok argued that any money Giudice could receive from the malpractice suit should go to her remaining creditors, even though Giudice and her husband Joe eventually withdrew their bankruptcy claim amid allegations they hid assets and income. 

Jason Mudrick, the chief investment officer at Mudrick Capital Management LP, is sending distress signals about the firm’s holdings in unsecured debt of Lightstream Resources Ltd., Bloomberg News reported today. As things stand, those holdings would be almost wiped out by a rescue plan designed to cut debt by $904 million for the Canadian oil producer. The plan pits Mudrick’s $1.3 billion hedge fund against some of the world’s biggest distressed-debt investors at Apollo Global Management LLC and Blackstone Group LP’s GSO Capital, who he said negotiated the plan privately with management to get majority ownership. Holders have also disputed restructurings this year at Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., Vanguard Natural Resources LLC and Chesapeake Energy Corp. “Larger distressed-debt funds will likely continue to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to the negotiation of plans of arrangement that suit their interests, to the detriment of the often smaller, unsecured creditors,” said Kyle Kashuba, a partner focused on financial insolvency and corporate restructuring in the Calgary office of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

Teen clothing chain Aeropostale Inc. is preparing to sell all its assets and may bring claims against the private equity firm that it said drove it into bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The New York-based company said in court papers on July 15 that “reorganization on a standalone basis is not feasible.” Instead, it will look for a “stalking horse” to make the lead bid at an auction next month and will pass the proceeds of any sale to creditors. The retailer also said it’s still reviewing 11,000 pages of documents and depositions of key individuals that senior lender Sycamore Partners produced during a bankruptcy probe and is evaluating whether to pursue claims against the private equity firm and affiliates. Aeropostale entered bankruptcy in May, saying that Sycamore used a supplier it controlled to trigger the filing. The retailer also says that the private equity firm controls its biggest secured lender, Aero Investors LLC, an agent to a $150 million term loan. 

Verso Corp., the papermaker that employs more than 560 at its mill in Jay, Maine, has emerged from bankruptcy, the Portland Press Herald reported on Saturday. The Tennessee-based company filed for Chapter 11 protection in January to clear $2.4 billion in debt. On Friday, it filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement its reorganization plan and issue 34.4 million shares of new stock. While complex, the bankruptcy plan’s centerpiece is to issue shares of stock to creditors in lieu of cash repayment. The new common stock will be issued to creditors that were owed money by Verso and its NewPage subsidiary before the bankruptcy. As part of Friday’s filing, the company said that it has taken the necessary steps to have its shares once again listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker VRS. Trading will begin today. Verso’s stock was delisted in September because its share price fell below the required $1 minimum.

Baltimore architecture firm Development Design Group filed to reorganize its debts in a chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court this week, citing lingering effects from the real estate downturn in 2008, the unexpected death of its CEO last year and disputes among shareholders, the Baltimore Sun reported on Saturday. Revenue has been falling at the firm, which was known in Baltimore for its international work, so DDG faces losses of nearly $500,000 through May this year, compared to profits of about $300,000 in 2015. The firm, which employs 40 people down from a height of 125, is also embroiled in internal disputes related to transfers and bonuses involving the late CEO Ahsin Rasheed and the firm's obligations to repurchase his shares, according to the filing.

Yellow-pages company Dex Media Inc. won court approval for a plan to restructure a debt load totaling $2.4 billion and wrap up yet another bankruptcy case, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross on Friday confirmed Dex's chapter 11 plan, which aims to slash more than $1.8 billion in debt off Dex's books. Dex lawyer Brad Giordano said on Friday that the chapter 11 plan not only slashes the company's debts but also includes $600 million in new financing to fund the company's operations going forward. Under Dex's chapter 11 plan, senior lenders will swap approximately $2.1 billion in debt for all of the equity in the restructured company, cash and $600 million in bankruptcy-exit financing. Unsecured bondholders owed about $270 million will receive $5 million in cash under the plan, as well as warrants to buy up to 10 percent of the company's new equity. Court papers show their estimated recovery to be four to six cents of every dollar they are owed.

When a federal judge approved Alpha Natural Resources’ bankruptcy exit plan two weeks ago, regulators, industry leaders and environmentalists breathed a collective sigh of relief, but while the plan will keep two large coal mines operating and set the stage for a stricter approach to self-bonding, the long-term outlook for Alpha is murkier, the Casper (Wyo.) Star Tribune reported today. Alpha was the first of three large coal companies operating in Wyoming to file for bankruptcy amid one of the most difficult years for coal in three decades. Arch Coal, which operates the Black Thunder Mine, and Peabody Energy, which runs the North Antelope Rochelle Mine, soon followed. But as the first company to reach a restructuring agreement with regulators and the courts, Alpha is expected to set a precedent for the other companies. Environmentalist hope Alpha’s plan will change the state’s approach to environmental bonding. State regulators want pragmatic deals that preserve Wyoming jobs. However, in a bearish market with hesitant lenders and federal oversight, widespread uncertainty remains about the viability of Alpha’s financial plan post-bankruptcy.

Popular country music venue Cowboys Dancehall owes almost $10 million to banks, auto companies, government agencies and individuals, according to a new filing detailing the venue’s assets and debts, the San Antonio News-Express reported today. The document, filed on Monday in the Western District of Texas, gives the clearest picture of the dance hall’s finances since Cowboys Far West Ltd., the Arlington, Texas-based partnership that owns the dance hall, filed for chapter 11 protection in June to stall a foreclosure sale on the venue’s $5.3 million, 16.6-acre property on the city’s Northeast Side. Cowboys lists $9.8 million in liabilities to its creditors — almost $1 million less than the company’s reported total assets: $10.51 million. Court documents show the dance hall’s 2016 annual revenue is on track to fall by almost 40 percent from previous years.

General Motors Co. resolved a dispute with financially troubled auto-parts supplier Clark-Cutler-McDermott Co. (CCM) in a deal that averts a potential production shut down of some of GM North American operations, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The agreement, approved by a federal bankruptcy court judge in Massachusetts yesterday, allowed GM to purchase equipment and inventory that the auto maker said it must have to avoid any production interruptions. CCM, which produced 175 parts for GM and is the Detroit auto maker’s only supplier of certain interior and acoustic insulation parts, also received court approval to terminate its contract with GM, clearing the path for CCM to sell its closed operations. The 115-year-old company has been a General Motors “Supplier of the Year” four times in the last seven years, but said the relationship soured as it absorbed losses of $12 million since 2013. The Franklin, Mass., company filed for bankruptcy protection on July 7, saying that it was losing $30,000 a day as a result of its contract with GM. Read more. (Subscription required.) 

Gain deeper insight into the particular concerns of supply-chain companies in bankruptcy with Interrupted! Understanding Bankruptcy’s Effects on Manufacturing Supply Chains, available in the ABI bookstore.