Category Archives: Bankruptcy and IVAs

New Orleans archbishop testifies under oath for first time in church bankruptcy case

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Gregory Aymond gave confidential testimony as church closes in on $230m settlement with clergy abuse survivors

As New Orleans’ Roman Catholic archdiocese closes in on a proposed settlement with clergy abuse survivors worth at least $230m, its outgoing archbishop, Gregory Aymond, testified under oath for the first time in the church’s bankruptcy case during a confidential court session on Friday.

Aymond’s sworn testimony was given under a protective order, and those who attended the session were barred from discussing it. But Billy Gibbens, a high-profile criminal defense and civil lawyer, confirmed in an interview with WWL Louisiana that he was there representing the archbishop as his personal attorney.

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New Orleans archbishop appears in court during contentious clergy sexual abuse bankruptcy case

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A potential agreement with survivors is in the works, but some parties are unhappy with settlement amount

The Catholic archbishop of New Orleans made a rare in-person appearance in federal bankruptcy court on Friday, days after announcing a potential agreement to settle claims with hundreds of clergy abuse survivors that has been met with pushback from some of the plaintiffs.

“I’m here because I’m concerned for the survivors,” Gregory Aymond said in an interview with WWL Louisiana away from the cameras after what is believed to have been his first appearance in person for an open court hearing in the five years since his archdiocese – one of the US’s oldest – joined roughly 40 Catholic institutions to file for bankruptcy protection amid the worldwide church’s long ongoing clergy molestation scandal.

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New Orleans archbishop appears in court during contentious clergy sexual abuse bankruptcy case

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A potential agreement with survivors is in the works, but some parties are unhappy with settlement amount

The Catholic archbishop of New Orleans made a rare in-person appearance in federal bankruptcy court on Friday, days after announcing a potential agreement to settle claims with hundreds of clergy abuse survivors that has been met with pushback from some of the plaintiffs.

“I’m here because I’m concerned for the survivors,” Gregory Aymond said in an interview with WWL Louisiana away from the cameras after what is believed to have been his first appearance in person for an open court hearing in the five years since his archdiocese – one of the US’s oldest – joined roughly 40 Catholic institutions to file for bankruptcy protection amid the worldwide church’s long ongoing clergy molestation scandal.

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Trump tariffs to hit small farms in Maga heartlands hardest, analysis predicts

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Major corporations are best placed to benefit from Trump polices at the expense of independent farmers

The winners and losers of Trump’s first tariff war strongly suggest that bankruptcies and farm consolidation could surge during his second term, with major corporations best placed to benefit from his polices at the expense of independent farmers.

New analysis by the non-profit research advocacy group Food and Water Watch (FWW), shared exclusively with the Guardian, shows that Trump’s first-term tariffs were particularly devastating for farmers in the Maga rural heartlands.

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Hooters restaurant chain files for bankruptcy protection

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Founded in 1983, the restaurant known for waitresses in skimpy outfits has run into financial difficulties lately

Hooters, the US-based restaurant chain known for chicken wings and skimpy waitstaff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection.

HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for chapter 11 protection Monday in the north Texas bankruptcy court in Dallas.

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Volunteer with key role in New Orleans church bankruptcy admits to stunning lack of qualifications

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Lee Eagan said he lacked prior experience, failed to familiarize himself with rules and suffered cognitive decline as case expenses soar to $40m

A US government official is questioning the soaring legal fees paid by the Roman Catholic archdiocese of New Orleans after the volunteer managing the organization’s four-and-a-half-year-old bankruptcy admitted under oath to a stunning lack of qualifications for his role. Lee Eagan, a local businessman, testified in early July to having never previously policed the costs of a bankruptcy as well as failing to familiarize himself with the rules for that kind of proceeding.

He also swore – in a separate series of earlier depositions – to grappling with substantial cognitive decline after a severe car crash nearly two years beforehand.

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New York judge dismisses Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case

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Ruling clears way for two Georgia election workers to try to recover nearly $150m Giuliani was ordered to pay them

A New York judge dismissed Rudy Giuliani’s bankruptcy case on Friday, clearing the way for two Georgia election workers to try to recover nearly $150m Giuliani was ordered to pay them for defaming them after the 2020 election.

“The court finds that cause exists to convert or dismiss the case. The record in this case reflects Mr Giuliani’s continued failure to meet his reporting obligations and provide the financial transparency required of a debtor in possession,” US bankruptcy judge Sean Lane wrote in his ruling. Lane also barred Giuliani from filing for bankruptcy again within one year.

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Alex Jones to liquidate assets to help meet $1.5bn Sandy Hook judgment

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The Infowars host dropped his petition for bankruptcy protection, now opting instead for liquidation of company

Infowars host Alex Jones has asked a court to sell off his assets to help meet a $1.5bn defamation judgment against him and his companies over public comments he made claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting was faked.

In a court filing, Jones dropped his petition merely to go into bankruptcy, admitted that he has to pay the Sandy Hook families, and asked the judge to convert the bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation.

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Alex Jones offers $55m to Sandy Hook families to satisfy $1.5bn judgment

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Families of the slain schoolchildren had earlier proposed an $85m settlement for the Infowars host’s lies about the 2012 massacre

The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has proposed to pay $55m over 10 years to the Sandy Hook families who sued him for spreading lies that the 2012 school massacre in Connecticut, one of the worst in American history, was a hoax.

The offer came after a Texas judge ruled that Jones, the host of Infowars, could not use bankruptcy protection to dodge the nearly $1.5bn he was ordered to pay to the victims’ families, who suffered abuse and threats from believers of Jones’s lies.

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Tupperware warns it could go bust without emergency funding

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Shares in US firm have fallen almost 50% this week and stock exchange says it is in danger of being delisted

Tupperware, the American plastic food container business founded by the chemist Earl Tupper 77 years ago, has predicted it will go bust unless it can raise emergency funds.

Shares in the Massachusetts firm, which became famous in the 1950s and 1960s when mostly women held “Tupperware parties” to sell its plastic containers with patented “burping” seal, crashed almost 50% this week after it told investors there was “substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

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Cryptocurrencies could lead to ‘limitless’ losses for UK government

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Experts warn of danger of untraceable funds if companies accepting payments in cryptos go bust

The government could face “limitless” losses as a result of businesses that accept payments in untaxed and untraceable cryptocurrencies going bust, an insolvency expert has warned.

A growing number of companies, including the ethical cosmetics firm Lush and office-sharing firm WeWork, have begun taking payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, alongside debt, credit or cash.

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