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Delaware Court Orders Siga to Pay PharmAthene 113 Million

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A Delaware judge yesterday ordered Siga Technologies Inc., a supplier of an antiviral smallpox drug to the U.S. strategic stockpile, to pay PharmAthene Inc $113.1 million in damages in a licensing dispute, Reuters reported yesterday. The Delaware Court of Chancery on Aug. 8 ruled that PharmAthene is entitled to damages from Siga for its failure to execute a license agreement related to its main antiviral smallpox drug, Tecovirimat. Wednesday's ruling determined those damages, which are to include as-yet unspecified prejudgment interest, according to the order entered by Vice Chancellor Donald Parsons. PharmAthene said in a statement the total final award, including interest and reimbursement of a portion of PharmAthene's attorneys' and expert witness fees, will top $190 million. Siga said in 2011 that it won a five-year U.S. government contract for 2 million doses of the drug, in a deal that could be worth as much as $2.8 billion. In September, the company filed for bankruptcy, which would bar PharmAthene from enforcing the order. Siga said that its bankruptcy was necessary to allow it to keep operating while it appealed the August ruling.

Former Dewey Executive Settles 9.3 Million Suit

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Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP 's former chief operating officer has reached a deal with the defunct law firm's bankruptcy advisers, making him the fourth and final ex-executive to settle civil Dewey-related claims, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The terms of the settlement, reached between Dewey's liquidating trust and ex-COO Dennis D'Alessandro, weren't disclosed in a filing made on Monday in bankruptcy court. The suit against D'Alessandro sought the return of $9.3 million in salary, bonuses and other compensation that he received from 2008 until the firm's 2012 collapse.

Goldman Underwriters Win Approval of MF Global Accord

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other financial institutions won court approval of a settlement with MF Global Holdings Ltd. bondholders who blamed the banks for the bankrupt company’s losses after its brokerage unit failed, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The underwriters agreed to pay $74 million to resolve claims over misstatements and omissions in offering documents, according to a letter sent by lawyers from both sides to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, who on Jan. 5 dismissed claims against the settling companies. MF Global filed the eighth-largest U.S. bankruptcy, with $41 billion in assets on Oct. 31, 2011, after making bets on European sovereign debt and getting margin calls. Other underwriters in the agreement include units of Deutsche Bank AG, Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. Jeff Ross, a lawyer representing some of the funds, said that his clients settled separately and alongside a class of bondholders, without specifying the terms.

Lehman Brokerage Trustee Pimco Settle U.S. Bankruptcy Claims

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The trustee liquidating Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s brokerage unit has agreed with Pacific Investment Management Co. unit to resolve $187.4 million of the money management firm's customer claims, likely at a fraction of their estimated value, Reuters reported on Friday. According to papers filed on Wednesday in bankruptcy court, Pimco will no longer be able to pursue customer claims, and will instead receive $146.6 million of general unsecured creditor claims against the brokerage, Lehman Brothers Inc. The brokerage's estate would pay up to $20 million of cash on the claims, and $25.6 million of disputed collateral would be returned to Pimco clients. Another $4.9 million of collateral would be returned to the brokerage's estate.

Another Key Deal Reached in Howrey Bankruptcy

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In the latest settlement struck by Howrey trustee Allan Diamond, a group of former Howrey leaders and a law firm that initially advised the defunct firm on its bankruptcy have agreed to pay $1.85 million, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The deal will see Wiley Rein LLP (whose restructuring lawyers are, in an unrelated development, separating from the firm) contribute $1 million to Howrey’s coffers, according to documents filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco. It will also see the firm’s onetime dissolution committee, including former chairman Robert Ruyak, chip in another $850,000. The result of more than a year of negotiations, the settlement still requires a court’s approval.

Delphi Accused of Skirting Bankruptcy Obligations

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Two hedge funds are suing Delphi Automotive PLC accusing the auto-parts supplier of failing to pay up to $300 million promised to creditors as part of its bankruptcy plan, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. In a lawsuit filed on Monday in bankruptcy court, Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo, Gordon & Co. say that Delphi is about to renege on commitments it made under its plan to exit bankruptcy in 2009. The funds asked the court to reopen Delphi's bankruptcy case, which has been largely dormant since the end of last year. The breach-of-contract suit centers on the terms of Delphi's chapter 11 plan, which called for unsecured creditors to begin receiving up to $300 million once $7.2 billion had been doled out to owners of the reorganized Delphi. Solus and Angelo are among several distressed-debt investors that bought up debt in the "old" Delphi. The funds say that in the suit that Delphi is close to reaching that $7.2 billion threshold but that Delphi denies that is the case.

Lehman Sues St. Louis University over Interest Swap

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Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed a lawsuit on Dec. 23 against Saint Louis University, the counter party on five interest-rate swaps at the start of Lehman’s bankruptcy in 2008, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. According to Lehman, the university terminated the swaps early and paid Lehman about $25 million. Lehman contends the university calculated the termination payment in a commercially unreasonable manner and wants $17.5 million more. To calculate the termination payment, Lehman said the university solicited offers from nine swaps dealers to step into the bank’s shoes on the swaps. Lehman claims the bids SLU received were below market because the university made it clear the dealers wouldn’t be required to enter into actual swap agreements.

Judge Authorizes NII Bonuses over Watchdogs Objection

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A bankruptcy judge cleared NII Holdings Inc.’s top executives to potentially earn millions of dollars in bonuses, telling a federal watchdog that its objection to the payout plan “completely stunned” her, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman yesterday authorized the Latin American Nextel carrier to pay its executives and senior managers bonuses tied to the company’s performance and the success of its chapter 11 case. The targeted total payout is approximately $9 million, though that could rise or fall depending upon how the company does. Before approving the plan, Judge Chapman questioned why a government attorney was objecting to the bonuses, which she called “a classic incentive program.”

Judge Approves 37 Million Washington Mutual Bankruptcy Settlement

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Bankruptcy Judge Mary Walrath yesterday tied up a remaining loose end from the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual Bank, endorsing a $37 million settlement of the company’s claims against its former leaders, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Regulators seized the troubled subprime lender and sold it to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The settlement approved Tuesday ends some of the litigation over who was to blame for Washington Mutual’s failure including legal fights with insurance companies that balked at paying. Among other things, the settlement could free up about $18 million that has been held in reserve in the event the bankrupt company was required to cover the defense fees and costs of sued executives.

Lawsuit Alleges Exide Plant Caused Health Problems

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Years of contamination at a Southern California lead-acid battery-recycling plant caused severe health problems for local residents, including cancer and kidney failure, according to a new lawsuit, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The suit, brought against directors and officers of Exide Technologies, was filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Plaintiffs attorney Robert Mandell said yesterday that the suit is one of five that he and three other lawyers plan to bring related to the alleged effect of an Exide plant in Vernon, Calif. The group's 475 clients include children and adults who say they became ill from exposure to lead and arsenic used at the plant, as well as the families of roughly a dozen people who have died from apparent exposure.