SeaStar Holdings, Inc., along with two of its subsidiaries and affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10039). SeaStar operates a passenger airline based in San Juan, Puerto Rico under the name Seaborne Airlines.

Adding to the growing split of authority among California’s various state appellate courts, and among various federal courts in California, the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Third Appellate District, recently held that a loan servicer may owe a duty of care to a borrower through application of the “Biakanja” factors, even though its involvement in the loan does not exceed its conventional role.

The Bottom Line

Addressing an issue of first impression in the Eleventh Circuit, the Court in Mantiply v. Horne (In re Horne), 876 F.3d 1076 (11th Cir. 2017), recently held that section 362(k)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code authorizes payment of attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by debtors in successfully pursuing an action for damages resulting from an automatic stay violation and in defending the damages award on appeal.

What Happened?

Life Settlements Absolute Return I, LLC, a special purpose vehicle investing in life insurance policies, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 17-13030). The Debtors estimate their assets to be between $10,000,001 and $50 million and their liabilities to be between $100,000,001 and $500 million.

F.T.K. Worldwide Mfg BVBA (a/k/a FTK Worldwide Manufacturing BVBA) has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 15 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 17-13024).

2017 represented one of the busiest years for Chapter 11 retail bankruptcy filings. Many companies that filed have successfully emerged, like Payless. Yet, some are still questionable as to their future, such as Toys “R” Us, which is expected to begin selling a number of their leases and company owned real estate this quarter.

As the New Year begins, here are 10 retailers to watch for a possible Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this year:

Section 303(b)(1) of the Bankruptcy Code generally requires three petitioning creditors to join an involuntary petition, each of which must hold claims against the debtor that are not contingent as to liability and are not the subject of a bona fide dispute as to liability or amount.[1] The Bankruptcy Code does not define the term “bona fide dispute,” which has generated my

Like any other business, law firms sometimes fail. While the failures of large law firms are well-publicized, smaller law firms can be just as or even more susceptible to failure, as the unexpected departure of the firm’s most profitable partner can be devastating to a small firm.

Rentech WP U.S., Inc. (NASDAQ: RTKH) and an affiliate have filed chapter 11 petitions before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 17-12958). The cases have been assigned to the Honorable Christopher S. Sontchi. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Fulghum Fibres, Rentech offers a full range of integrated fibre services including, wood chipping, operations, marketing, trading and vessel loading.

Amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 3002

Certain amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules”) will become effective in all cases commencing after December 1, 2017.1

The amendment to Bankruptcy Rule 3002 is significant. As explained in detail below, the amendment does the following: