In the January 15, 2026 decision rendered in In re The Aspen Chapel, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado provided a significant reminder that bankruptcy, while a powerful tool for financial restructuring, cannot be weaponized to circumvent the statutory protections Congress extended to tenants occupying leased real property. The case…

When a special purpose acquisition company burns through capital pursuing a failed deal, it often emerges from the wreckage with nothing but litigation claims. How, then, should a debtor with no operational revenue prosecute those claims? Judge John P. Mastando III addressed precisely this challenge in January 2026 in In re SPAC Recovery Co.…

On December 1, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision in In re GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., 675 B.R. 125 (S.D.N.Y. 2025), reversing a bankruptcy court’s confirmation of third-party releases that relied on an opt-out mechanism. Judge Denise Cote held that a creditor’s silence—a failure…

On August 21, 2025, Judge Craig T. Goldblatt of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware issued a significant ruling in In re AIO US, Inc. (the Avon Products bankruptcy) that rejected a “gatekeeping” provision in a proposed Chapter 11 plan. The court held that neither the Bankruptcy Code nor the Barton…

On August 29, 2025, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court issued a dismissal order in In re Bedmar, LLC that stands as one of the clearest applications of the “manufactured bankruptcy” doctrine to emerge from the post-Third Circuit landscape. Judge J. Kate Stickles dismissed the Chapter 11 case under Section 1112(b) for lack of good faith, finding…

When personal injury attorneys face a defendant who files for bankruptcy, progress on the case suddenly halts as the automatic stay takes effect. While obtaining relief from the stay is the first challenge (as discussed in my previous article), understanding the insurance coverage landscape is equally critical. Most successful stay relief negotiations involve limiting…

The letter decision, issued by Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on December 16, 2024, addresses a Motion to Allow Late-Filed Proof of Claim in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy case. The movant, identified only as “J.C.,” sought permission to file a late claim…

In the recent decision of FI Liquidating Trust v. The Terminix International Company Limited Partnership, Civ. No. 23-1233 (D. Del. Oct. 29, 2024), the United States District Court for the District of Delaware reversed and remanded a bankruptcy court’s summary judgment ruling in a preference action. The case involved the FI Liquidating Trust (formed…

PetroQuest Energy Inc., a Louisiana-based oil and gas exploration company, has filed for bankruptcy in Delaware with $115.5 million in debt ($104.5 million secured, $11 million unsecured). This marks their second bankruptcy filing, having previously emerged from Chapter 11 in 2019. The company, which was founded in 1998 and focuses on oil and natural gas…