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Long Beach officials are resigned to never getting back millions of dollars that were supposed to go toward fixing up the Queen Mary, the Long Beach Post reported. As of last week, the city has essentially bowed out of the ongoing bankruptcy case of Los Angeles-based real estate firm Urban Commons, which took over the ship’s lease in 2016 and left a wake of unmet promises and financial disasters. The city remains on a list of creditors and is seeking a mere $200,000, “but we don’t really expect to receive anything,” Deputy City Attorney Rich Anthony said on Wednesday. Long Beach was left in control of the historic ocean liner in 2021 but was still suing Urban Commons to try to determine whether the company defrauded the city of any of the $23 million in bonds issued to cover critical repairs on the ship—some of which never got done. Through the legal proceedings, the city was able to subpoena accounting ledgers and other financial documents to help trace the bond money. That information showed most of the money the city paid out indeed matched Urban Commons’ invoices for work it subcontracted, but that doesn’t necessarily absolve the company or its principals of wrongdoing, City Attorney Dawn McIntosh wrote in a Tuesday memo to the City Council.

Legacy Cares Inc., the non-profit owner of a bankrupt Phoenix-area sports complex, won a court fight to keep the venue’s planned sale on track after an Arizona judge rejected a federal monitor’s plea to appoint a trustee for the site, Bloomberg News reported. The decision is a victory as well for holders of $280 million in municipal bonds, unsecured creditors and the landlord of the 320-acre complex. The trustee for Vanguard Group, AllianceBernstein Holding LP and other bondholders and other creditors opposed the federal monitor’s request. Judge Daniel Collins of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona ruled that naming a trustee for the complex would “gravely jeopardize” the sale of the facility and it’s ability to continue as a going concern. Legacy Cares asked the court to set a Sept. 18 deadline for bids on the venue and to complete the sale in early October. “All parties appear to agree on one thing — this estate is losing money at an alarming rate and the estate’s assets must be sold sooner than later,” Judge Collins wrote in an order on Wednesday.

The $102.1 million sale of the Banyan Cay hotel, residential and golf project in West Palm Beach has fallen through, the South Florida Business Journal reported. Denver-based Westside Investment Partners was scheduled to close on the purchase of the 200-acre resort out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court on July 25, but the attorney for the debtor alleged that the buyer hasn’t fulfilled the terms of the asset purchase agreement. Joseph A. Pack, the Miami-based attorney for Banyan Cay Resort & Golf LLC, filed a motion on July 30 to compel Westside to turnover the escrow agreement and all evidence related to monetary transfers for funding of the purchase. Pack alleged that Westside failed to fund $3.06 million due under the escrow agreement and has breached the asset purchase agreement. The debtors are now working to find another buyer for Banyan Cay. Banyan Cay Resorts & Golf filed chapter 11 reorganization in March to stay a $95.1 million foreclosure judgment from U.S. Real Estate Credit Holdings, in care of El Segundo, Calif.-based Calmwater Capital. It also blocked a $5 million mezzanine loan claim from a group of foreign investors in the EB-5 visa program.

Cineworld Group said it has emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy after nearly 11 months, coming out with lower debt and a new slate of management and board, Reuters reported. The world's second largest cinema chain operator behind AMC Entertainment said it has appointed former Chair and CEO of Warner Bros Ann Sarnoff to its board, along with four other members to join new Chairman Eric Foss and CEO Eduardo Acuna. The movie chain operator and owner of brands such as Regal, Cinema City, Picturehouse and Planet had filed for U.S. bankruptcy in early September to restructure its massive debt. The "New Cineworld" has fixed its balance sheet after cutting debt by $4.53 billion, raising about $800 million in new equity capital and securing new debt financing of about $1.71 billion, the company said.

An entity that is controlled by Charif Souki and behind the ownership of Aspen Valley Ranch declared bankruptcy last week in its latest attempt to stop creditors from foreclosing on the 813-acre property with a gated community in Woody Creek, the Aspen Daily News reported. Bankruptcy also was declared by Strudel Holdings, a Souki entity that owns one-half of Ajax Holdings, in order to put off an auction by creditors to sell its assets, which include the Coldwell Banker Mason Morse real estate firm in Aspen. The filings came amid a dispute between Souki, who lives in Aspen and Houston, and the lenders, who say Souki has defaulted on $90 million in personal loans that have soared over $120 million with interest, according to court records. Souki pledged Aspen Valley Ranch and Ajax Holdings as collateral for the loans that he received last decade. The 25 million shares in the stock of Houston-based Tellurian, a liquified natural gas company Souki co-founded in 2016, also were put up as collateral, as was his luxury yacht. The creditors sold those shares earlier this year at below $2 per share, according to court filings. Allegations in the bankruptcy filings are similar to ones carried out by Souki in the Supreme Court of the State New York, which are that Souki’s debt should be wiped clean because his loans were overcollateralized and the lenders dumped the Tellurian shares at fire-sale prices rather than following a strategic timeline. Souki’s New York suit is now on hold with the bankruptcies on file.

Lighthouse Immersive Inc., the company behind an interactive Vincent van Gogh exhibition displayed across the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The Toronto-based company filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy in Delaware yesterday alongside affiliates, a move that protects its U.S. assets while insolvency proceedings play out in its home country. While the company is best known for its van Gogh exhibit, it has also launched displays that feature Disney animation, as well as works of Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet. The company has sold more than 7 million tickets, according to its website. The company has obtained financing to fund itself during bankruptcy, according to court papers. Additional details on the funding weren’t included in initial filings.

A management firm overseeing the development of a 320-acre youth sports complex in Arizona ended up overspending and shifting some money intended for construction into its own account, according to a bankruptcy court filing, Bloomberg News reported. The former manager, Legacy Sports, was tied to Randy Miller, a former professional baseball player who was the driving force behind the complex known as Legacy Park. Miller spent more than a decade pitching his vision for the facility, and a separate non-profit entity he founded with his son, Legacy Cares, was able to raise $280 million of debt in the municipal bond market starting in 2020 to help build it. But the complex faced construction delays, labor shortages and cancellations amid the pandemic. Its opening was pushed back, and even when it did start operating in 2022, COVID spikes cut into business. In May, Legacy Cares filed for bankruptcy. In a filing last week, Legacy Cares said that Legacy Sports, a for-profit entity that is no longer managing the facility, expected to be able to raise more money for the complex, and therefore spent money on additional improvements beyond the construction budget outlined in the offering materials for the bonds. Legacy Sports also asked for bond proceeds for its own operating expenses, beyond what the firm was entitled to receive, depleting funds available for construction, the filing said.