Pro Bankruptcy Briefing: J&J Beats Injury Lawyers on Talc Bankruptcy; Judge Questions Talc Supplier's Chapter 11 Vote
September 22 2021 - 9:12AM
Dow Jones News
Good day. It was a busy day for Johnson & Johnson's ongoing
fight over its talcum-based baby powder. The company won a court
ruling preserving its option to push talc liabilities into
bankruptcy, while another judge questioned the chapter 11 plan
voting of a former talc supplier.
Elsewhere, the Boy Scouts of America avoided further delay in
efforts to begin polling 82,500 men on a sex-abuse compensation
plan. And China Evergrande made an onshore bond payment, giving the
highly indebted conglomerate more time to work out a broader
restructuring.
Top News
J&J keeps talc bankruptcy as an option. Johnson &
Johnson again beat back an attempt by personal injury lawyers to
prohibit the company from hiving off its talc liabilities before
placing them in bankruptcy. A New Jersey judge declined to block
J&J from separating talc liabilities from its corporate assets,
a first step toward moving pending talc-related claims against the
company into chapter 11.
A different judge, meanwhile, raised concerns about a key voting
bloc of injury claims in the chapter 11 plan of J&J's former
talc supplier, Imerys Talc America. The dispute revolved around
Thomas Bevan, an asbestos plaintiffs' lawyer whose more than 15,700
votes were decisive in securing injury claimants' support for the
Imerys plan, which J&J opposes.
Bankruptcy
Boy Scouts avoid delay of chapter 11 plan timeline. The Boy
Scouts of America are pushing forward with a bankruptcy exit plan
with nearly $1.9 billion in cash for sex-abuse survivors,
overcoming advocates for some victims who sought to pause the youth
group's efforts and who also want to propose their preferred
compensation program.
Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Wilmington, Del. on Tuesday denied a bid by a committee
representing abuse victims to delay her consideration of materials
the Boy Scouts intend to send victims and other creditors.
Driller Tenrgys files for bankruptcy, blaming soured lender
deal. Oil-and-gas producer Tenrgys LLC filed for bankruptcy
protection, saying it failed in attempts to restructure debt with a
lender formed by the billionaire behind LaCroix sparkling
water.
The Ridgeland, Miss.-based private drilling company has been
trying to restructure and pay down debt since oil prices collapsed
between 2014 and 2015 but filed for bankruptcy after its top
secured lender refused to close on an out-of-court restructuring
deal, according to court papers filed by Tenrgys.
Bankrupt business lender has a lifeline. A Texas bankruptcy
judge authorized lender Flexible Funding LLC and its Instapay
subsidiary to draw up to $15 million from its existing credit line
to ease the company into chapter 11.
Flexible Funding, which filed chapter 11 protection, was
authorized to continue drawing from its revolving credit agreement
with Umpqua Bank to avoid disruption to its business during its
first few days in bankruptcy. Flexible Funding and its Instapay
unit provide loans and alternative financing options to businesses
operating in the temporary staffing and trucking industries,
respectively. The company has said it intends to reorganize in
chapter 11. -- Jonathan Randles
Williamsburg hotel developers prep bankruptcy-exit deal.
Developers behind the 147-room Williamsburg Hotel in Brooklyn
intend to invest an additional $6.6 million into the property under
a restructuring plan meant to get the hotel out of chapter 11.
The investment was described in a bankruptcy reorganization plan
filed Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y.
Hotel developers are also proposing to pay an additional $2 million
to resolve disputes with their primary lender over use of a
Paycheck Protection Program loan, court papers say.
A development company behind the Williamsburg Hotel filed
chapter 11 in February, one of several hotel properties that have
been tipped into bankruptcy during the Covid-19 pandemic. --
Jonathan Randles
International
China Evergrande's flagship business resolves onshore bond
payment. Embattled China Evergrande Group's flagship property
business said it would make an interest payment on an onshore bond,
giving the highly indebted conglomerate more time to work out what
investors expect will be a lengthy and complicated
restructuring.
White Collar
Jurors in the Theranos trial heard patient testimony. An Arizona
medical assistant testified Tuesday at the criminal trial of
Elizabeth Holmes that she received two Theranos Inc. blood tests
indicating she was miscarrying when she was in fact pregnant --
results that her medical provider testified were unlike any she has
ever seen in eight years of practice in women's health.
"Sometimes you have to fail before you can succeed, right?"
-- Elizabeth Holmes's attorney, Lance Wade
In Other News
More Sears and Kmart stores will close in the coming months. Two
years after Transformco acquired the struggling retailers out of
bankruptcy in February 2019, seven Sears and two Kmart stores are
liquidating with most closing by mid-November. (USA Today)
Puerto Rico lawmakers plan to file legislation next week that
allows the commonwealth to sell new bonds to replace existing debt,
a necessary step to help finalize the island's record bankruptcy.
(Bloomberg)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2021 08:57 ET (12:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Johnson and Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024