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More than 35,000 people from the Avoca, Pa., area and other parts of the country have filed claims seeking payment for health problems blamed on Kerr-McGee Corp. sites, including a creosote wood-treatment plant that had operated in the borough for four decades, according to a new court filing, the Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Times Leader reported. James Haddock, a spokesperson and activist on the Avoca issue, said he worries a bankruptcy settlement set aside for such claims will be sucked up by processing and administrative fees, leaving little or nothing for claimants. Cancer, respiratory problems, heart conditions, rashes and other medical maladies have been blamed on carcinogens and chemicals used at the Kerr-McGee plant in Avoca, which closed in 1996, filings say. The claimants are seeking payment from a future tort claims fund most recently valued at $25.6 million that was part of a $5.1 billion bankruptcy settlement involving Kerr-McGee and related entities. This tort fund is for new claimants who were not among the approximately 6,000 who already received payments in past litigation or bankruptcy settlements.

A federal judge on Friday approved a south Mississippi hospital's plan to settle a lawsuit over its financially troubled pension system, although opponents question whether the plan will work, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. on Friday ruled in favor of the plan for Singing River Health System to pay more than $156 million to its pension fund over 35 years.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit had ordered Guirola to re-examine the issue after opponents of the settlement had appealed. The legal battle has pitted retirees against Singing River, with retirees trying to hold onto their full benefit, or at least capture as much money as possible. Singing River, which operates hospitals in Pascagoula and Ocean Springs, stopped paying into the system from 2009 to 2014 without telling employees and retirees. That decision was part of a financial crisis at the county-owned hospital system. The pension plan is paying 725 retirees now, and covers 3,200 people, including employees who have yet to retire, as well as former workers who have left. Pension plan manager Traci Christian has reported that the $123 million now in the bank won't last past 2025 without the settlement. 

The attorneys representing the Montana victims of sex abuse by Catholic priests say more money exists for settlements after the Great Falls-Billings Diocese declared chapter 11 bankruptcy last March, the Billings Gazette reported. In December, the victims group alleged that $70 million in Catholic real estate assets and an additional $16 million in funds transferred out of the Great Falls-Billings Diocese should be considered fair game for victims' settlements. In a move to streamline the complaints, the judge overseeing the case ordered the victims group to separate out the two claims. The judge will now make one ruling on the whether the $70 million is available and a separate ruling on whether the $16 million is also fair game. In a recent supplemental filing, attorneys for the victims group made their argument for the $16 million. In their claim, the attorneys argue that the diocese transferred more than $16 million in assets from its deposit and loan fund to an entity known as the Capital Assets Support Corp. The attorneys alleged in their court filing that the funds transfer was an attempt by the diocese to "hinder, delay or defraud" its creditors.

A group led by former Small Business Administration chief Maria Contreras-Sweet entered exclusive talks to buy the troubled Weinstein Co. film studio, Bloomberg News reported. The negotiations could lead to a sale of the company in the next two weeks. Contreras-Sweet, who served under President Barack Obama, has emerged as the lead bidder among a group of would-be buyers that included Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and beIN, the Qatar-based owner of Miramax — the previous film studio founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Under terms she presented to Weinstein Co. in November, Contreras-Sweet would lead a majority-female board to supervise the company, which has teetered near bankruptcy after Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment or assault by several women. Contreras-Sweet’s investment group would assume most of the liabilities of Weinstein Co. and create a fund to supplement its insurance and compensate victims of sexual harassment.

There’s debate about whether the women bringing allegations against Harvey Weinstein will fare better financially if Weinstein Co. finds a buyer who doesn’t require the studio file for bankruptcy protection, as the troubled company weighs several offers, the Wall Street Journal reported. A chapter 11 filing would halt lawsuits brought by women against the studio, forcing them to line up with low-ranking creditors to await their fate. Once the money from a sale comes in, bankruptcy law dictates who gets paid first — the banks that kept Weinstein Co. in business — and who gets paid last — the women claiming that Weinstein Co. was part of Weinstein’s pattern of alleged sexual misconduct. Weinstein has denied allegations of non-consensual sex. If the studio files for bankruptcy, it would only halt civil lawsuits against the company, not those filed against Weinstein, individually.

Killer Content Inc., the movie producer that has partnered with philanthropist Abigail Disney in a consortium vying to acquire the Weinstein Company, said yesterday that bankruptcy may be the best way forward for the U.S. film and TV studio, Reuters reported. Killer Content’s comments come as the studio continues to grapple with the fallout of sexual harassment allegations against its former co-chairman, Harvey Weinstein, who left the company three months ago. More than 70 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, including rape. He has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone. Reuters has been unable to independently confirm any of the allegations. The Weinstein Company has been looking for a buyer or rescue financing since last fall. The company’s investment bankers at Moelis & Co. have been focused on an outright sale, rather than a debt restructuring or bankruptcy. Killer Content said in a statement that it remained interested in acquiring the assets of the Weinstein Company, but that a sale process may not be the best way for the company to address its liabilities.