Introduction

Bankruptcy activity across the United States increased noticeably in 2025, marking one of the sharpest rises in more than a decade and reflecting mounting financial pressure on businesses and individuals alike. While the total number of annual bankruptcy filings remains lower than pre-pandemic levels, overall filings grew at a steady pace compared to the prior year. In fact, 2025 was among the most active periods for business filings since the aftermath of the Great Recession with tens of thousands of business filers seeking protection under Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.

28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(5) provides: “personal injury tort and wrongful death claims shall be tried in the district court in which the bankruptcy case is pending, or in the district court in the district in which the claim arose”

In other words, “personal injury tort” and “wrongful death” claims cannot be tried by a bankruptcy court.

Welcome to Distressed Debt Legal Insights, Ropes & Gray’s source of timely insights for professionals navigating the complex world of liability management and special situations finance. In this issue we discuss the first major decision of 2026: STG Logistics. The January 3 opinion primarily denies the motions to dismiss brought by defendants seeking to validate their October 2024 drop down plus double dip transaction.

Transaction Details and Procedural History

The U.S. Supreme Court does not like the Bankruptcy Code. It never has. Two examples are:

Key Points

Mass torts and resulting litigation are a reality of life in these United States.

But one of the truly shocking things about mass tort litigation, in recent times, is this:

• judicial delays override the wishes of mass tort victims for prompt payment of negotiated amounts.

A current example of such delays is the Boy Scouts confirmed bankruptcy plan.

Chronology

Here is a short Chronology of the Boy Scouts bankruptcy plan—and the lapse of more than three years since confirmation without a final resolution:

The Uniform Law Commission (“ULC”) is the same organization that brought us the Uniform Commercial Code, the Uniform Trust Code, and other “Uniform” state laws.

The ULC is now offering a Uniform Assignment for Benefit of Creditors Act (the “Uniform ABC Act”).

The new Uniform ABC Act codifies the common law of ABCs. Such common law has its foundation in the law of trusts: i.e., debtor is the trustor, assignee is the trustee, and debtor’s creditors are the beneficiaries.