This past November, the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas sided with the majority of circuit courts when it held (i) that bankruptcy courts may apply Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 to class proofs of claim and administrative proofs of claim, and (ii) that a putative representative may file a conditional claim on behalf of a putative class that may later be certified.

KIKO USA, Inc., a retailer of professional makeup and skincare products based in New York, NY, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-10069).

On January 12, 2018, an involuntary chapter 11 petition was filed against Oak HRC New Castle, LLC, a rehabilitation facility located in Wilmington, Delaware, and health care business (as defined in 11 U.S.C. 101(27A)). The petitioners, each asserting trade claims, are: Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

First River Energy, LLC, a midstream energy company based in San Antonio, TX, has filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11. in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 18-10080).

Hobbico, Inc. , a Chicago-based distributor of radio-control and general hobby products, along with seven of its affiliates, has filed a petition for relief under chapter 11 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Lead Case No. 18-10055).

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).

In a prior post, we examined whether state-licensed marijuana businesses, and those doing business with marijuana businesses, can seek relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

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.

A Belgian diamond and precious metals trader, Exelco NV, has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 15 in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (Case No. 17-12409). Exelco North America, Inc., along with three other American affiliates of Exelco NV, previously filed for Chapter 11 on September 27, 2017 (Lead Case No. 17-12029).