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Creditor groups and several law professors on Friday called for an end to what they call "judge shopping" in a Houston, Texas, bankruptcy court that directs all large cases to a couple of judges, saying that the practice creates "the perception of a two-tiered justice system," Reuters reported. The group asked the federal judiciary to adopt a nationwide rule change that would require new "mega" bankruptcy cases with more than $100 million in debt to be randomly assigned among all judges within the district where they are filed. A uniform rule would reinforce the "impartiality" of the federal court system and prevent bankruptcy courts from competing "to attract the largest and most high-profile bankruptcy cases," the group wrote. Rules proposed from outside the judiciary are subject to many layers of review before they can potentially be adopted, a process that generally takes at least three years, a spokesman for the administrative office of the courts said on Friday. Bankruptcy courts currently have wide latitude in how they assign cases, which has sometimes allowed bankrupt companies to "effectively pick and choose the judge of their choice," according to a letter signed by eight law professors, two creditor groups and Cliff White, a former director of the U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog.

The push by creditors of Barretts Minerals to move the talc supplier’s chapter 11 case out of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston was blocked by presiding judge Marvin Isgur, according to a court filing Thursday. The official unsecured creditors committee in November filed a motion seeking to transfer the case from Texas to Montana, noting that Barretts has its headquarters in that state and conducts its primary business of talc mining there. The committee said that Barretts’s only operations in Texas are a single office suite, a processing and transportation facility in Bay City, and a couple of real-estate properties that contain fast-food restaurants. They argued that the company’s choice of filing in Texas amounts to “blatant forum shopping.” Barretts, the former Pfizer minerals business, filed for bankruptcy in October while facing hundreds of personal injury lawsuits alleging that the talc the company supplied for cosmetics products caused exposure to asbestos. In a response to the committee’s motion, Barretts’s chief restructuring officer, David Gordon, said that of the more than 550 pending talc lawsuits against the business, he isn’t aware of any in Montana. In contrast, he said he is aware of at least six lawsuits against Barretts in Texas. He said that Barretts’s decision to file its chapter 11 case in Houston was the result of “careful consideration of a number of factors, including the location of their assets, the logistics of travel for their executives and professionals, and the costs associated with filing in the Southern District of Texas compared to other jurisdictions.”

Talc supplier Barretts Minerals is challenging an effort by creditors, including tort claimants, to move its chapter 11 bankruptcy case from Texas to Montana, where the business is based, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Facing hundreds of personal-injury lawsuits, the former Pfizer minerals business filed for bankruptcy protection in October in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Barretts supplied talc for cosmetic products alleged to have caused injuries primarily from exposure to asbestos supposedly contained in the products. Pfizer spun off Barretts in 1992, when the health care business wanted to divest itself of its minerals businesses. Minerals Technologies became an independent company that included Barretts, taking over the specialty minerals businesses. Earlier this month, the official unsecured creditors’ committee said the Barretts bankruptcy case should be heard in Montana, noting that the company’s primary business of talc mining had occurred in Dillon, Mont., a few miles from its headquarters. The committee said Barretts is trying to justify its “blatant forum shopping” in Texas by becoming a landlord to two restaurants there, a McDonald’s in San Antonio and a Whataburger in San Angelo. In a response filed on Monday, Barretts Chief Restructuring Officer David Gordon said that of the more than 550 pending talc lawsuits against the business, he isn’t aware of any in Montana. In contrast, he said that he is aware of at least six lawsuits against Barretts in Texas.