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Gravity, whose computer animation and digital effects appear in Ford and Got Milk? ads, filed for Chapter 11 protection Tuesday to avoid eviction from its Madison Avenue office, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Facing demands to pay more than $465,000 in unpaid rent, which it can’t afford, Gravity Chief Executive Zviah Eldar said in court papers that the company decided to seek shelter in bankruptcy court, where it will get breathing room from the landlord and other creditors. The company provides computer-generated animation and digital visual effects for commercials, movies, television shows and other productions. Gravity is hoping to continue normal operations in chapter 11, to which end it has requested the use of the cash securing its lenders’ claims.

U.S. firm Chatsworth PGA Properties LLC, which provides assisted living services for the elderly, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Reuters reported today. Chatsworth, which also offers nursing and dementia care, listed estimated liabilities of between $100-$500 million and assets of up to $10 million, according to court documents. The case is In re Chatsworth PGA Properties LLC, Case No. 13-12457, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/pgaproperties-bankruptcy-idUS…

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Ecotality Inc., a maker of electric-vehicle charging stations that was awarded a grant of nearly $100 million by the Energy Department four years ago, has filed for chapter 11 protection on Monday and plans to auction off its assets next month, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The company said that eight potential buyers have expressed interest in bidding on its assets at a proposed Oct. 9 auction. Nissan North America Inc. has agreed to provide Ecotality with a $1.25 million loan to fund the Chapter 11 case pending the sale. The company makes charging units for Nissan’s Leaf electric car. Ecotality said last month it was exploring a restructuring or sale, citing payment suspensions from the U.S. Department of Energy, which awarded the company a $99.8 million grant in 2009 to manage the deployment of a nationwide network of electric-vehicle charging stations known as the EV Project. Ecotality owes the Energy Department $6.5 million, according to court papers.

FriendFinder Networks, which publishes the adult magazine Penthouse, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy today with the aim of cutting its debt load as the company struggled to make certain loan payments, Reuters reported today. The holding company, which also houses internet sites such as adultfriendfinder.com, listed out estimated liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion and assets less than $10 million, according to a court filing. FriendFinder has not turned in a net profit at least since 2008, Thomson Reuters data shows. Total revenue for the four consecutive fiscal quarters ended June 30, 2013 was $293.70 million, a filing showed.

City Homes Inc., which rents more than 300 Baltimore apartment units to low-income tenants and faces a wave of lead paint lawsuits, has filed for chapter 11 protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Facing legal judgments worth several million dollars in prior lead paint lawsuits and more litigation on the horizon, the Baltimore company is hoping to take advantage of the breathing room offered in chapter 11. “As a result of the 70 pending lead paint lawsuits and the many more anticipated, the companies must stabilize their affairs and consider all options going forward,” City Homes President Barry Mankowitz said in court papers filed on Tuesday. Past legal judgments against City Homes include $2.5 million awarded to two siblings in November 2009. Their mother moved to a City Homes rowhouse after finding out one of the children was exposed to lead in a previous rental unit; she said that City Homes had assured her that the home was safe. Another case resulted in a $5.1 million judgment against City Homes that was later reduced to $1.25 million.

Furniture Brands International Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday and said that it plans to sell most of its business, which includes names such as Thomasville, Drexel Heritage and La Barge, Reuters reported yesterday. The St. Louis-based company said that it agreed to sell all of its brands except Lane Furniture to Oaktree Capital Management, an investment firm that specializes in buying assets from bankrupt companies. The sale agreement will be subject to higher bids and a court-supervised auction. The money from the auction will be used to repay Furniture Brands creditors. Oaktree also committed to providing a $140 million debtor-in-possession or DIP loan to finance the bankruptcy case.

Edge Products LLC, a manufacturer of electronics for vehicle manufacturers, filed for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported on Friday. The company estimated liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million and assets of $50 million to $100 million. Edge Products makes products such as ignition systems and monitors for major vehicle manufacturers. The case is In re Edge Products LLC, Case No. 13-12295, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware.

Longview Power LLC filed for chapter 11 protection along with certain of its affiliates, a court filing showed, as the U.S. power plant operator aims to restructure its debts to gain financial and operational flexibility, Reuters reported today. Longview Power, majority-owned by First Reserve Corp., a private investment firm, listed liabilities and assets of more than $1 billion, a court filing showed. Longview said that there will be no interruption to its business and employees will not be affected by the chapter 11 filing.

After an explosion, an evacuation of a small Louisiana town and a threatened eviction, military explosives-disassembler Explo Systems Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Company officials who put the small business into chapter 11 on Monday said in court papers that its has 15 million pounds of “energetic materials”—largely M6 propellant—at its location on the Louisiana National Guard’s Camp Minden. Operating under a military contract, Explo Systems workers had been dismantling unneeded explosives, according to media reports and federal court papers. The company resold explosive material “for reuse in commercial blasting operations” and the remaining scrap metal to recyclers, according to details in a federal lawsuit filed by its insurance company.

Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, the Maine-based railroad whose oil train caused a fire and explosion that claimed 47 lives in a small town in Quebec, has filed for chapter 11 protection, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Company Chairman Ed Burkhardt said previously that a bankruptcy filing was likely due to service disruptions because its rail line remains closed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. The company also faces lawsuits and enormous cleanup costs following the July 6 derailment and disaster in Lac-Megantic. The train with 72 tankers full of crude oil was unattended when it began rolling, eventually tearing into the town. Burkhardt blamed the train's operator for failing to set enough hand brakes.