Actor and reality show star Gary Busey has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in California. Aside from listing more than $500,000 in estimated personal debts, and a dozen creditors Busey’s bankruptcy filing leaves few details. Gary is known for his roles in movies such as; “Point Break” and “Lethal Weapon,” but in recent years he has appeared on several reality shows including “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Celebrity Wife Swap.” Although Busey did not state the specific reason for his bankruptcy filing, the 67-year-old is said to have less than $50,000 in assets. Busey’s manager Ron Sampson wrote in a statement that [...]

Big Boy Restaurant Chain Possibly the most well known restaurant chain on our list is Big Boy restaurants. The chain is famous for the double-decker hamburgers they specialize in, and the little boy on their logo. The owner of the chain, the Elias Bros. Corp., filed for bankruptcy after experiencing financial difficulties, and money issues with their expansions. The company closed 43 restaurants just a month before their bankruptcy filing. From 2001, to 2010 the number of Big Boy locations dropped from to 405 to 141. Change in sales (2001-2010): -68.6% Sales 2001: $580 million Sales 2010: $182.25 million Change [...]

In the past decade, many of America’s most loved restaurant chains have closed. There is a saying that states that in the restaurant business you always have customers, because people need to eat. However, with the poor economical climate a lot of restaurant chains in America, are filing for bankruptcy, and closing many of their locations. In this 2 part blog post, we’ll look at the top 10 restaurant chains in the United States that have experienced the greatest decline in sales from 2001 to 2010. Sadly, the sales of each restaurant chain we discuss have fallen 60% or more [...]

Hostess Brands, the manufacturer of tasty treats, such as Twinkies, Wonderbread, Ding Dongs, Ho hos, Sno Balls, and more has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York. Old-fashioned union agreements, legacy obligations, and work rules, have been listed as the main culprits responsible for the Texas company’s bankruptcy filing. Unionized workers make up 83% of their 19,000 workers. Some experts expect the unionized workers collective bargaining agreements to be the first to be dismissed in their bankruptcy proceedings. The new health conscious society has also been blamed for Hostess’ decline. Hostess came out of [...]

The Rochester, N.Y.-based company, Eastman Kodak Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday. The company is known for being a pioneer in film and camera development. The 132-year-old company’s bankruptcy filing will effect hundreds of local Kodak employees, contractors, suppliers and retirees. Their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, will offer the company protection from their creditors as they move forward with a plan to reorganize their debts, and hopefully improve their financial future. Kodak has obtained $950 million in funding from Citigroup to continue operations during the reorganization. Kodak considers their commercial inkjet printer development the key to the company’s  [...]

The Tribune Group In2008, The Tribune Group, a newspaper and television chain that publishes The Chicago Tribune, and The Los Angeles Times filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. A drop in advertising revenue brought on by the recession, as well as a shift with internet advertising, were noted as the Tribune Group’s main financial problems.    Washington Mutual On September 26, 2008, Washington Mutual, Inc. and its remaining subsidiary, WMI Investment Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Washington Mutual, Inc. was delisted from trading on the New York Stock Exchange, and commenced trading via pink sheets. At the time, their [...]

Refco Three months after going public, Refco filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The New York based financial Services company’s financial downfall was attributed to a wide scale financial fraud involving Refco’s CEO and chairman, Phillip Bennett. Bennett hid over $430 million in bad debt. At the time of filing for bankruptcy protection, Refco’s assets were $33.3 billion and their debt totaled $16.8 billion.   Lehman Brothers The bankruptcy case of Lehman Brothers, the global financial services firm remains the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S history with $600 billion in assets. The news of their bankruptcy filing caused financial stocks [...]

Delta Airlines The nation’s third largest airline suffered a major blow after the spike in fuel prices following hurricane Katrina. This added to the airlines financial difficulties after failing to achieve a profitable quarter since 2000. With high labor costs and the competition among low-fare growing, Delta decided to file for bankruptcy. Years after bankruptcy, Delta is once again thriving. The airline is now viewed by many analysts as the country’s top-performing major carrier.”They transformed the company amazingly well,” says longtime critic Roger E. King, an analyst for CreditSights, a New York-based institutional research firm.   Conseco The well-known finance [...]

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy is reorganization bankruptcy. This type of bankruptcy is used in bankruptcy cases involving large corporations and businesses. In this 4-part blog post we will look at some of the most influential and high-profile Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases of the last decade.  Pacific Gas & Electric Co. In April 2001, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., is a subsidiary of the nation’s largest utility holding company, PG&E Corp which provides natural gas and power to central and northern California. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. had accumulated $12 billion in [...]

BP Clothing, the former Baby Phat apparel line licensee has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Los Angeles apparel company, which is located in Commerce California, held the license to produce the celebrity endorsed Baby Phat clothing line for stores such as; Walmart, and JcPenny until recently. Scott London, Steven Feiner, and investment company Steel Partners founded BP Clothing, in 2003. On December 12th, the company filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. BP Clothing’s venture was formed around the Baby Phat brand, which was created by Russell Simmons, a music executive and co-founder of [...]