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 [...]

Like many other lawyers in the Los Angeles California area, a great deal of my clients are filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy filings are on the rise, not only in Los Angeles, but all over the U.S. Every day in Los Angeles new businesses are formed. Unfortunately, in our current economical climate, many businesses are also struggling to survive. Los Angeles is a competitive market, making it just that much more difficult for new businesses to survive. Competition is very high in Los Angeles, and it seems as a new business opens another closes. As a Los Angeles Bankruptcy lawyer, I [...]

The parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York. American Airlines, the nation’s third largest carrier, cited high labor costs, surging fuel prices, and a volatile economy as their reasons for filing bankruptcy. AMR, which employs 88,000 people, is hoping to restructure their debts with their Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and maintain all business operations successfully through the holiday season. In October, the airlines had a combined 9 million passengers, and they are expecting to have many more throughout the upcoming holidays. Aside from getting their debts in order, the airlines main [...]

The NHL hockey team the Dallas Stars has won court approval for its bankruptcy reorganization. The team filed for bankruptcy protection September 15 this year. The Dallas Stars will be sold for $265 million to Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi. The sale of the team will eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid debts. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Peter Walsh approved the bankruptcy reorganization plan at a hearing on Friday. Gaglardi ended up being the only bidder in this court-supervised auction. Tom Gaglardi, 43, is president of his family’s business Northland Properties Corp who has properties that include Sandman Hotels, Inns [...]

The biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history was filed Wednesday by Alabama’s Jefferson County. The county, which is the home of Birmingham, Alabama’s biggest and most economically powerful city, has been struggling with its debts for years. After a closed door meeting that went on for two days, county commissioners voted 4-1 to declare bankruptcy. The meeting was a final attempt to restructure its debts out of court. “The county has negotiated extensively and in good faith with its creditors and their representatives about restructuring the county’s debts out of court. Despite the county’s best efforts, these negotiations have not [...]

The self-described “ice cream of the future,” Dippin’ Dots Inc., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. For more than a year, the company has been fighting off foreclosure efforts from Regions Bank. However, the future of ice cream is having trouble staying afloat. Dippin’ Dots manufactures specialty ice cream products, which are primarily sold in venues like concert halls, theme parks, and stadiums, as well as at franchised locations. According to court documents, at the time of their bankruptcy filing, the ice cream company owed approximately $11.1 million to the bank. Even though the company is struggling with their [...]