Videology, Inc., along with four of its affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11120). Videology, based in Baltimore, MA, is a software solutions provider in the TV and digital advertising industry.

BioAmber Inc. (OTCMKTS: BIOA), a chemicals manufacturer based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-11078).

Gibson Brands Inc., along with eleven subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-11025).

Nighthawk Energy plc, along with its wholly owned subsidiary Nighthawk Royalties LLC, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10990). Nighthawk, an independent oil & gas company operating in the DJ Basin in Colorado, has not yet filed First Day Motions.

Bertucci’s Holdings, Inc., along with nine subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10894). Bertucci’s, headquartered in Worcester, MA, is a brick oven Italian eatery with fifty-nine (59) locations through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

VER Technologies HoldCo LLC, along with eight subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10834).

EV Energy Partners, L.P., along with thirteen (13) affiliates and subsidiaries, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10814). EV, based in Houston, Texas, is an upstream oil & gas developer operating throughout the United States.

Collapsed retailer British Home Stores cannot challenge its own company voluntary arrangement as an unenforceable contractual penalty and must repay rental discounts to its landlords, the High Court in England and Wales decided yesterday.

The case, in which Hogan Lovells represented the successful landlord, provides important guidance on the operation of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), particularly after termination, and the payment of rent as an expense of a company’s administration in priority to other debts.

CVAs

The recent spate of high-profile company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), including those of BHS, Store 21 and more recently Love Coffee, The Food Retailer Group and Blue Inc, has placed this corporate rescue tool back in the spotlight.

CVAs can be a useful mechanism for turning around a failing business, but it is clear that they are no panacea. First, they don’t always work, and BHS is a striking example of a CVA failing to save a business despite compromising a large number of leasehold liabilities.

The Bankruptcy Deadline Checklist is a quick reference guide for those who handle bankruptcy cases including judges, lawyers, paralegals, credit managers, collection agents, professors, law students, and others.