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MF Global Seeks to Cut Claims of Ex-CEO Corzine Other Officers

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MF Global Holdings Ltd. wants a judge to slash the claims of former officers being sued over the broker-dealer's bankruptcy, including ex-Chief Executive Jon S. Corzine, so the estate can quickly pay back other creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. In a court filing on Thursday, lawyers for the team winding down MF Global asked Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn to cancel certain claims filed by Corzine and others, or at the very least, place them below those of other creditors or estimate the maximum amount the officers could receive. In the filing, administrator winding down MF Global said, without the approval, "these contingent and unliquidated claims will unduly delay the administration of the chapter 11 cases and prevent the plan administrator from making distributions to all creditors." With an approval, some creditors of MF Global's Finance USA unit could see some of their money within weeks, the filing said. A hearing on the matter is set for June 19.

Trustee Appointed to Take Control of TelexFree

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A bankruptcy judge on Friday approved the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee to take control of TelexFree LLC, the company behind an alleged pyramid scheme that promised more than $1 billion in returns to investors around the world, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. After reviewing a group of applicants, a Department of Justice representative who oversees bankruptcy cases appointed Stephen Darr, senior managing director at Mesirow Financial Consulting LLC to the position on Thursday, meaning he will make the day-to-day administrative decisions that will determine TelexFree's next steps in the bankruptcy process.

Apollos Momentive Girds for Fight Over Bankruptcy Plan

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Momentive Performance Materials Inc., a maker of silicone and quartz products owned by Leon Black’s Apollo Global Management LLC, is girding for a dispute over the bankruptcy exit plan it wants a judge to confirm in August, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Momentive may face opposition to the plan’s approval at a five-day trial starting Aug. 14, given that litigation with creditors may require a “substantial” investigation, according to court papers filed yesterday. Momentive asked Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain to approve a schedule that would wrap up discovery in the cases by July 25. Discovery should “take place on an expedited timetable,” Momentive said in the filing. The company said that it began talks with its creditors’ committee to try and speed up document production, deposition of witnesses and other matters.

Claimants Seek to Revisit Garlocks Asbestos Liability

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Lawyers representing asbestos claimants in Garlock Sealing Technology LLC's chapter 11 case are lobbying to reopen an issue that a bankruptcy judge decided earlier this year, which reduced the company's asbestos liability to $125 million from the $1.3 billion plaintiffs' lawyers sought, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported yesterday. The committee representing personal injury claimants says that Garlock withheld crucial evidence, which amounts to fraud on the court. In a 63-page motion, the committee argued that Garlock had or could have had access to information it claimed not to have access to during its pre-bankruptcy settlement negotiations.

Energy Future Wins Creditor Support for 4.5 Billion Loan

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Creditors of Energy Future Holdings Corp., the bankrupt Texas power provider, agreed to drop objections to $4.5 billion in loans needed to keep its main operating unit running while under court protection, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi said yesterday that he will approve the loans once he sees the final wording of the terms. The company may still face opposition to a separate proposed package of $5.4 billion in loans that would be used to pay off bondholders of the company’s regulated unit. The judge said he will consider approving those loans at a hearing today.

JPMorgan Units MModal Wins Approval of Bankruptcy Terms

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MModal Inc., the medical-transcription company indirectly controlled by JPMorgan Chase & Co., won court approval of the rough terms of a plan to reorganize and will seek final approval July 15 to exit bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Grossman yesterday approved MModal’s disclosure statement, which explains how much creditors will get. The reorganized company is projected to earn $57 million before taxes and other items this year and $71 million a year by 2017, enough to support its new debt load of about $320 million in secured debt, according to court papers. MModal, acquired by New York-based JPMorgan’s One Equity Partners in a $1.14 billion leveraged buyout in August 2012, filed for bankruptcy on March 20. The Franklin, Tennessee-based company listed assets of $626.8 million and liabilities totaling $876.3 million. MModal struggled to make payments on the debt as software and other products supplanted its transcription business, which converts health care providers’ dictation to text and generated more than 80 percent of revenue.

Houston Sports Channel Asks for More Time to File Exit Plan

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Comcast SportsNet Houston, the city's struggling sports channel, has asked a judge to push back a key deadline in its chapter 11 case while its executives figure out how to turn around the channel, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Attorneys for Comcast SportsNet Houston, which broadcasts Astros baseball and Rockets basketball games to fewer than half of the city's households, said in court papers that they need at least 30 additional days to propose an outline of its bankruptcy-exit plan.

New York High Court Weighs Unfinished Business Rule

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New York’s highest court yesterday weighed whether law firms that hire partners from dissolving firms should be obligated to help repay the dead firm’s creditors by turning over profits earned on work the new partners bring with them, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Law firm bankruptcy administrators have long argued that the so-called unfinished business doctrine makes profits from assignments that partners take to new firms a legitimate asset of the defunct firm, which can then be used to pay creditors. But partners at the nation’s top law firms say that client business isn’t a commodity that can be bought and sold and that they shouldn’t be punished for sticking with clients when a firm goes under. The issue came before the New York Court of Appeals after dueling appeals in federal court — stemming from the bankruptcies of Thelen LLP and Coudert Brothers LLP — left case law in New York unclear. Facing the two appeals, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked the New York court to look at the issue from a state law perspective.

Milwaukee YMCA Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

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The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee has filed for chapter 11 protection, WISN.com reported yesterday. The organization said it will sell a majority of its owned real estate to help pay down $29 million in debt. The group said it has budgeted earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization of $950,000 in 2014. The organization said that financial complications over the past few years, combined with declining membership, decreasing contributions and millions of dollars in deferred maintenance costs have made the current financial model unsustainable.

Creditors Agree on Chapter 11 Plan with Former Fisker Automotive

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The former Fisker Automotive Inc. appears headed for a peaceful end to its bankruptcy, having reached an accord with the official committee of unsecured creditors over terms of a cash-sharing plan, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Announced in a court filing yesterday, the agreement heads off the threat of a major clash next week, when the bankruptcy case of the former hybrid auto maker enters its final stages. China's Wanxiang Group bought the car-making operation at a bankruptcy auction, leaving $149.2 million worth of cash and stock for Fisker creditors. Fisker's creditor’s committee forced the auction after a fight with the company, which advocated a private deal with a company affiliated with Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, an early Fisker backer.