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☆ Crypto exchange Bittrex files for bankruptcy after SEC complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 8 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, three weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused it of operating an unregistered securities exchange. Seattle-based Bittrex ceased operations in the United States on April 30, and it said the bankruptcy filing would not impact Bittrex Global, which serves customers outside the United States. Bittrex said that it was still holding crypto assets of U.S. customers who did not withdraw funds before April 30. Bittrex has denied the SEC's allegations, saying the crypto assets on its platform were not securities or investment contracts. Bittrex's other largest creditors were mostly customers of the crypto exchange.

Companies Genesis Global Capital, Llc FollowMay 4 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX received U.S. bankruptcy court permission on Thursday to sell its LedgerX business for $50 million, raising additional funds to repay creditors. Miami International Holdings owns the Bermuda Stock Exchange and several U.S.-registered securities exchanges, including the Miami International Securities Exchange. FTX said in a court filing that Genesis owes it that money as a result of transactions that took place shortly before FTX's bankruptcy filing. Genesis, unlike other creditors, was largely repaid before FTX went bankrupt, FTX said. FTX, a once-prominent crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 amid allegations that founder Sam Bankman-Fried used FTX customers' money to prop up Alameda's balance sheet.

☆ NBA's Phoenix Suns sign new TV deal after broadcaster bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Apr 18, 2023; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) with guard Devin Booker (1) against the Los Angeles Clippers during game two of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsApril 28 (Reuters) - The NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury announced a new television and streaming rights deal for their basketball games on Friday, over the objection of the bankrupt U.S. sports broadcaster that currently televises Suns regular-season games. "Cord cutters, cable subscribers, fans with an antenna – everyone will be able to watch Suns and Mercury games," Ishbia said in a statement. The Phoenix Suns current television broadcast partner Diamond Sports Group said it would oppose the deal. The Suns and Mercury did not disclose financial terms of the new broadcast deal or the terms of the current Diamond Sports contract.

☆ SVB's former parent may need new funding after $2bln cash seizure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The FDIC has also not fully explained why the cash was seized, Bromley said. FDIC's attorney, Derek Baker, told Glenn that SVB Financial's bank accounts were properly seized as part of FDIC's takeover of the failed bank. The cash is being held as a set-off against the regulator's costs in stepping in to protect SVB customer deposits, and FDIC is working to provide more detail about its claims against SVB Financial, Baker said. Glenn said he needed more information about the FDIC's authority to seize cash and how disputes related to the seizure should be resolved. SVB Financial is also still waiting for the full return of financial records that were seized as part of the bank takeover.

☆ SVB's former parent may need new funding after $2 billion cash seizure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley Bank's former owner may need to take out a bankruptcy loan amid uncertainty about the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Company's seizure of $2 billion in cash from the company, its attorney said Wednesday. The FDIC has also not fully explained why the cash was seized, Bromley said. FDIC's attorney, Derek Baker, told Glenn that SVB Financial's bank accounts were properly seized as part of FDIC's takeover of the failed bank. Glenn said he needed more information about the FDIC's authority to seize cash and how disputes related to the seizure should be resolved. SVB Financial is also still waiting for the full return of financial records that were seized as part of the bank takeover.

The Boy Scouts' three-year Chapter 11 bankruptcy case resulted in the largest sexual abuse settlement fund in U.S. history and resolves claims by more than 80,000 men who say they were abused as children by troop leaders, according to the organization. The Boy Scouts settlement was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers, which funded a large part of the settlement. The Boy Scouts organization was able to emerge from bankruptcy after the Philadephia-based 3rd U.S. Money for the settlement comes from the Boy Scouts, local councils, insurers and organizations that have chartered Scouting units and activities, including churches. The Boy Scouts organization has contributed additional insurance rights to the settlement fund, which may be worth as much $4 billion, according to court documents.

3M and Aearo say the earplug litigation has spiraled out of control. But attorney Adam Silverstein, who represents veterans suing 3M over hearing loss, said at a court hearing in Indianapolis that filing for bankruptcy, like "pulling a fire alarm," should be reserved for urgent threats. Aearo was not in need of emergency rescue, because it had filed for bankruptcy solely as "a strategic alternative to managing 3M's litigation," Silverstein said. Aearo, which made the combat arms earplugs, filed for bankruptcy last July, with 3M pledging $1 billion to fund its liabilities stemming from the lawsuits that accuse both Aearo and 3M of misrepresenting the earplugs' effectiveness, leading to hearing damage. Aearo should be allowed to proactively resolve the growing problem of earplug lawsuits through a bankruptcy settlement, Husnick said.

In a 9-0 ruling written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision against MOAC Mall Holdings LLC, the parent company of the mega-mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota. The lease provided Sears with a three-story, 120,000-square foot (11,000 square meters) location at the mall for a rent of just $10 a year. Mall of America went to court to try to stop the lease transfer during the Sears bankruptcy process. Circuit Court of Appeals found in 2021 that bankruptcy law does not allow for appeals of court-approved bankruptcy sales. While bankruptcy law limits the ability of courts to unwind a sale after appeal, it does not prevent appeals entirely, the Supreme Court ruled.

LTL has said litigation against J&J would imperil its effort to negotiate a comprehensive settlement of all current and future talc claims in its bankruptcy. Before the talc lawsuits could resume, LTL filed for bankruptcy a second time, re-opening the legal battle over the bankruptcy's legitimacy. It has said its second bankruptcy is different because it has less funding available and more plaintiff support for a settlement. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan agreed to protect J&J from lawsuits during LTL's first bankruptcy, saying at the time it offered the best way to fairly resolve all of the talc lawsuits together. Kaplan, who is also presiding over the second bankruptcy, will now decide whether to stop the lawsuits again to give LTL a second shot at a bankruptcy settlement.

☆ Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has recovered $7.3 bln in assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has recovered over $7.3 billion in cash and liquid crypto assets, an increase of more than $800 million since January, the company's attorney said on Wednesday at a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware. FTX's new CEO John Ray has detailed improper fund transfers and poor accounting at the collapsed crypto exchange, describing it as a "complete failure" of controls. He offered few details on what a reboot might mean for FTX customers whose crypto deposits have been locked up during the bankruptcy case. FTX would need significant capital to restart its crypto exchange, because the existing customer interface had little connection to the movement of money behind the scenes, the lawyer said. It is not clear whether FTX should use its own funds to re-start the exchange, rather than using the money to repay customers, Dietderich said.

Kaplan said he shared Richenderfer's concerns, but would not take any action to stop LTL's second bankruptcy filing until he gets more information. J&J faces more than 38,000 lawsuits that have been consolidated in federal court in New Jersey alleging that its talc products sometimes contained carcinogenic asbestos, and those cases have been on hold while LTL pursues a bankruptcy settlement. J&J has said its baby powder and other talc products are safe, do not cause cancer or contain asbestos. LTL attorney Greg Gordon said at Tuesday's court hearing that the second bankruptcy is different because the company has fewer assets available and more support for a bankruptcy settlement. Gordon called that an "over the top accusation," saying plaintiffs' support for the settlement is real and substantial.

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowApril 10 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson's renewed effort to resolve talc lawsuits through an $8.9 billion bankruptcy settlement must be dismissed as a "fraudulent scheme" that defies a court order rejecting the company's previous attempt to settle the litigation, according to a court filing from lawyers representing cancer victims. Circuit Court of Appeals that it was not in sufficient "financial distress" to qualify for bankruptcy. J&J maintains that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. J&J did not provide an estimate of the total number of talc claims it faces when asked. That's especially true for J&J talc cases, because LTL's first bankruptcy stopped new lawsuits from being filed after October 2021, he said.

☆ J&J talc unit's second bankruptcy must be dismissed, cancer victims' lawyers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 4 (Reuters) - Federal appeals court judges on Tuesday appeared skeptical of 3M's (MMM.N) bid to use the bankruptcy of its subsidiary Aearo Technologies to shield itself from nearly 260,000 lawsuits over allegedly defective military-issue earplugs. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to reverse a bankruptcy court order allowing the lawsuits to move forward against 3M, even though Aearo is bankrupt. Aearo and 3M said the bankruptcy process would facilitate a fair and comprehensive settlement with the plaintiffs. David Frederick, representing the plaintiffs, told the panel that 3M "contrived this bankruptcy to help itself, not Aearo or its creditors." The next-largest MDL, the Johnson & Johnson talc litigation, has 38,000 cases.

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - A Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) subsidiary filed for bankruptcy a second time on Tuesday, seeking to complete a $8.9 billion settlement of lawsuits alleging that its baby powder and other talc products cause cancer. J&J subsidiary LTL Management's first bankruptcy was dismissed earlier on Tuesday, after an appellate court ruled that the neither J&J not LTL were in the type of "financial distress" that made them eligible for bankruptcy. The new bankruptcy filing includes a proposal to pay $8.9 billion over 25 years to resolve all current and future talc claims, according to J&J. The settlement is supported by over 60,000 current claimants, J&J said in a statement. J&J said that its settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, nor an indication that the company has changed its longstanding position that its talcum powder products are safe.

[1/2] The statue of a scout stands in the entrance to Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, February 5, 2013. More than a dozen insurers, including Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, have said the Boy Scouts' bankruptcy settlement puts them on the hook for paying "thousands of invalid and questionable claims." The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers. The Boy Scouts organization said Friday it would oppose any effort to delay bankruptcy exit. The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 after several U.S. states enacted laws allowing accusers to sue over decades-old abuse allegations.

☆ Johnson & Johnson unit loses bid to stay in bankruptcy during Supreme Court appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Johnson & Johnson FollowMarch 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. court on Friday declined to delay the dismissal of a Johnson & Johnson company's (JNJ.N) bankruptcy, directing the bankruptcy to be dismissed despite a planned U.S. Supreme Court appeal that could revive the company's effort to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products in bankruptcy. J&J maintains its consumer talc products are safe and asbestos-free. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia ruled that LTL's bankruptcy should be dismissed because neither LTL nor J&J had a legitimate need for bankruptcy protection because they were not in "financial distress." LTL asked the 3rd Circuit to delay its ruling from taking effect until the company has time to pursue an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The 3rd Circuit denied that request in a brief written order Friday, instead directing the a U.S. bankruptcy judge to close LTL's bankruptcy case.

March 28 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday affirmed the Boy Scouts of America's $2.46 billion settlement of decades of sex abuse claims, rejecting appeals by some of the group's insurers and abuse claimants. The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers. The Boy Scouts organization said it was "enormously grateful" to abuse survivors who spoke out about their experiences and who voted to support the settlement. The judge rejected insurers' appeals that argued the Boy Scouts organization colluded with abuse claimants to shift liability to insurers. The Boy Scouts also contributed additional insurance rights, which may be worth more than $4 billion, to the fund will pay abuse claims, according to Andrews' ruling.

☆ Judge halts Voyager Digital's $1.3 bln sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday temporarily stopped bankrupt Voyager Digital (VYGVQ.PK) from completing a proposed $1.3 billion sale to crypto exchange Binance.US, allowing the U.S. government more time to pursue appeals that challenge the legality of the deal. Trustee, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) bankruptcy watchdog, filed appeals in early March over a bankruptcy court's approval of the sale. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Those assets, valued at $1.3 billion in February, account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according to Voyager. Binance.US maintains publicly that it is entirely independent of Binance.com, operating as the "U.S. partner" to the world's biggest crypto exchange.

☆ FTX reaches deal to recover over $400 mln from hedge fund Modulo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 22 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reached a deal to recover more than $400 million in cash from hedge fund Modulo Capital, pulling back 97% of the money that FTX companies sent to the hedge fund in 2022, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said his top priority was recovering assets to repay FTX customers. Alameda, at the direction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, had paid $25 million to acquire a stake in Modulo and contributed $450 million to an investment fund managed by Modulo, according to the filings. FTX also agreed to not take further actions against Modulo or its principals Xiaoyun Zhang and Duncan Rheingans-Yoo related to the 2022 payments, according to the filings. FTX has previously recovered more than $5 billion in its quest to repay customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange.

California banking regulators on March 10 closed Silicon Valley Bank in the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Kurt Gwynne, an attorney for the FDIC as receiver for Silicon Valley Bank, disputed at Tuesday's hearing that regulators had done anything improper. Destroyed SVB (Silicon Valley Bank) logo is seen in this illustration taken March 13, 2023. Glenn said he was prepared to allow SVB Financial to use up to $100 million for investment activity. Silicon Valley Bank was SVB Financial's largest asset, accounting for more than $15.5 billion of SVB Financial's $19.7 billion in total assets.

Companies FTX Trading Limited FollowMarch 20 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX on Sunday sued the liquidators overseeing the wind-down of its Bahamian affiliate FTX Digital Markets, accusing them of wrongly claiming ownership of the exchange's assets. FTX called FTX DM a "fraudulent enterprise", initially set up only to be a "local service company", which did not own the FTX.com exchange or any of the cryptocurrency seized. FTX has been at odds with Bahamian officials ever since filing for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11. The Securities Commission of the Bahamas began liquidation proceedings against FTX DM a day before the U.S. bankruptcy filing of FTX Trading and more than 100 affiliates, and the two sides have sparred over ownership of FTX assets and access to company data. FTX reported this month that Bankman-Fried took $2.2 billion in funds from the company during a period when the crypto exchange lost $8 billion of customer money.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's parent company cut off from bank's records
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SVB Financial has no employees of its own, and the new bank's employees "cut off access" to a substantial portion of SVB Financial's "books, records, files, electronic systems and key employees," according to Kosturos. The FDIC receivership removed SVB Financial's primary source of liquidity and most of its business infrastructure, as well as triggering defaults on SVB Financial's debt, forcing the company into bankruptcy, according to court documents. SVB Financial's court filings listed $19 billion in assets, $2.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, and $3.4 billion in liabilities. About $15.5 billion of SVB Financial's asset value was attributed to the SVB banking business that was seized by regulators. Those investment funds include direct venture funds that invest in companies, funds-of-funds that invest in other venture capital funds, and debt funds that provide lending and other financing solutions to startups.

March 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge declined to delay the $1.3 billion sale of crypto lender Voyager Digital to Binance.US, saying Voyager customers should not be forced to wait out a challenge by the Department of Justice that is unlikely to succeed. The government can "can step in at any time" if it believes illegal transactions are happening, but has not presented any evidence that Voyager's crypto transactions are illegal, Wiles said. They argued that the protections could rubber stamp crypto transactions that might be illegal under U.S. securities laws. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard ChangOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US government appeals approval of Voyager sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trustee, the Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog, filed a notice of appeal late Thursday in U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan. Voyager, Binance.US and the DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the appeal. Wiles disagreed, saying that Voyager and its employees should not be penalized for carrying out a court-approved sale to Binance.US. In approving the plan, Wiles had also overruled an objection from the SEC, saying that it attempted to cast doubt on the legality of the sale without presenting any evidence that Voyager or Binance.US had violated securities laws. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and to take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers.

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