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Fleet Aviation LLC, a charter-flight company servicing East Coast vacation destinations including the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, filed to liquidate in bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Fleet Aviation, which flies out of New York’s Westchester County Airport, provides service to East Hampton and Montauk on Long Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts and Cape May in New Jersey.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan sued Fleet Aviation in August, saying that the company used an unqualified pilot on dozens of flights in 2008 and 2009 in violation of federal aviation regulations. The company agreed to pay a $40,000 fine to settle the case, according to court papers.

Back Yard Burgers Inc., an operator of quick-service restaurants, filed for bankruptcy protection with a pre-negotiated plan to restructure its debt, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company listed assets of as much as $10 million and debt of as much as $50 million in chapter 11 documents filed yesterday. BYB Properties, Nashville BYB and Little Rock Back Yard Burgers also sought protection. The filing does not include franchise-owned locations. Back Yard Burgers, based in Nashville, Tenn., operates and franchises restaurants in 20 states, mainly in the Southeast region of the U.S.

A123 Systems, which had received a $249 million grant from the U.S. government, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, Reuters reported. The filing came after the lithium-ion battery maker's $465 million rescue deal with Chinese auto parts supplier Wanxiang Group collapsed, hobbled by "unanticipated and significant challenges," A123 said. A123 has agreed to sell its automotive operations, including two factories in Michigan, for $125 million to Johnson Controls Inc., a leading battery supplier and another recipient of federal green subsidies. The U.S. Department of Energy allotted about $90 billion for various clean-energy programs through the administration's stimulus package. Of that, at least $813 million went to energy companies that eventually filed for bankruptcy, including A123, Solyndra, Beacon, Abound Solar and EnerDel.

Zacky Farms LLC, a Fresno, Calif.-based poultry producer, filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell itself to pay creditors owed as much as $100 million, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The closely held company blamed the filing on heavy debt and soaring feed costs. The poultry industry has been under "severe stress due to historically high corn and soybean meal prices" leading to "significant operating losses" in its turkey and chicken business, the company said. Zacky listed as much as $100 million in assets in its bankruptcy filing.

Bakers Footwear Group Inc., a mall- based retailer of shoes for young women, filed for bankruptcy protection after announcing a plan to close stores and reduce costs because of declining sales, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company listed assets of $41.9 million and debt of $59.5 million as of April 28 in chapter 11 documents filed yesterday. Bakers, based in St. Louis, said on Aug. 27 that it will shut as many as 25 stores, sell leases and other assets for as many as 52 more to Aldo Inc. for $6.4 million, and terminate its license for H by Halston. The proceeds will be used to pay bank debt and trade creditors, Bakers said. The company expects to raise as much as $8 million through liquidation sales and reduce expenses by as much as $7 million a year.

High-security storage facility RoboVault filed for bankruptcy protection in Florida as it faced losing its 155,000-square-foot location in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to foreclosure, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. In its bankruptcy petition, the company said that it owed $20 million to BankAtlantic. RoboVault listed assets worth about $18.6 million in its chapter 11 petition.

Metro Fuel Oil Co., a closely held provider of heating oil, construction site fueling and central air conditioning, filed for bankruptcy with a proposed investment from the real-estate billionaire Sam Zell and a plan to sell the company in 90 days, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company's chapter 11 petition filed yesterday listed as much as $50 million in assets and $100 million in debt. A “liquidity squeeze” brought on the bankruptcy filing, and a sale of all of the company’s access is planned within 90 days, the company said in court papers. Prior to the bankruptcy, Metro Fuel Oil’s outstanding long-term secured debt was about $58.8 million, consisting of $48.3 million of bank debt and $10.5 million of project financing related to a new biodiesel plant. The company also estimates its trade creditors have claims or around $10 million, according to the filing.

The Southern California arm of chauffeured limousine giant Carey International Inc. has filed for bankruptcy after the subsidiary lost a multimillion-dollar legal battle with its network of drivers, worrying company executives that more disputes could follow, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Carey Limousine L.A. Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday to protect itself from copycat disputes that could follow the $4.5 million legal award won by some of its Los Angeles-area drivers. Those drivers convinced an arbitrator that the Carey subsidiary had misclassified the drivers as contractors when, in fact, they should have been treated as employees.

Beall Corp., which manufactures aluminum and stainless-steel tanks and trailers for heavy-duty trucks, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday to restructure its business, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. The Portland, Ore.-based company asked the court to allow it access to the cash it has on hand so it can continue to pay its 285 employees and cover other costs of doing business.

Spectrum Healthcare, a chain of six nursing homes in Connecticut, has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to shed some of its $27 million in debt and reduce its operating costs, the Hartford Courant reported yesterday. The company, with 725 employees and 716 beds, plans to keep all the homes in operation while it reorganizes. The filing is the latest sign of the financial pressures faced by nursing homes in Connecticut, where it is estimated that facilities could need as much as $90,155 a year to care for a resident, according to the trade group for 150 of the facilities. Seven other nursing homes have entered bankruptcy in the past five years, and two of those either closed or are closing.

To learn more about health care-related insolvency issues, be sure to pick up a copy of the ABI Health Care Insolvency Manual, Third Edition in the ABI Bookstore.