bankruptcy - Delaware Business Times

Economics, Legal Services, News

Wilmington firms saw 2020 bankruptcy boom, and they may again

Jacob Owens September 9, 2021

WILMINGTON – Although COVID-19 wrought widespread financial pain for many businesses across the country and the world, it conversely led to a boom in filings for Wilmington’s many law firms. As the center for most ...

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Legal Services, News

Veteran lawyer Scott Cousins opens boutique firm

Jacob Owens October 15, 2020

WILMINGTON – After working on some of the biggest bankruptcy and litigation cases in Delaware courts over the past decade, attorney Scott Cousins has opened his own boutique law firm. The new firm, Cousins Law, ...

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Accounting, Legal Services, News

Will bankruptcy boom be boon to Delaware firms?

Jacob Owens August 28, 2020

WILMINGTON – Some of America’s biggest corporate names have filed for bankruptcy in Delaware over the last 30 years, earning it a reputation as the place for big business to get a fresh start. With ...

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Coronavirus, News, Retailing And Restaurants

JCPenney files for bankruptcy; Del. locations’ future uncertain

Jacob Owens May 15, 2020

PLANO, Texas – JCPenney Co., the century-old retailer that has become the ubiquitous presence in malls across America, filed for bankruptcy protection Friday afternoon, becoming the most well-known business to fall victim of the pandemic ...

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News, Retailing And Restaurants

Pier 1 files bankruptcy, seeks buyer

Jacob Owens February 17, 2020

FORT WORTH, Texas – The home furnishings and décor retailer Pier 1 Imports announced Monday, Feb. 17, that it had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was working to find a buyer for the company. The ...

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WILMINGTON – Although COVID-19 wrought widespread financial pain for many businesses across the country and the world, it conversely led to a boom in filings for Wilmington’s many law firms. As the center for most of corporate America, the city’s legal scene has long depended on a tripod of business services, bankruptcy and intellectual property. Wilmington’s state Court of Chancery and federal Bankruptcy Court and District Court typically rank among the busiest courthouses in the country as high-profile business cases are heard.

Few likely expected the explosion of bankruptcy filings that occurred last year, though. The Delaware court’s commercial Chapter 11 filings, or businesses looking to restructure debt rather than sell their assets, grew from 613 in 2019 to 1,666 last year, by far the most of any federal bankruptcy court. It also saw its share of so-called “mega cases,” or those that involve at least $100 million or 1,000 creditors, grow to a record-high of 98 last year. Those dramatic increases in cases also led to the highest weighted caseload for the court’s judges at 2,912 last year – the national average was 618. Helping to shoulder that burden, two new federal bankruptcy judges – J. Kate Stickles and Craig Goldblatt – were added to the bench in April, filling vacancies left in recent years. The filings have slowed in the first half of 2021, with 381 commercial Chapter 11s filed in Delaware, but it still ranks second overall in the nation behind the rapidly growing Southern District of Texas court. Warren Martin Jr., co-chair of Porzio, Bromberg & Newman’s bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice that opened a Wilmington office last summer amid the case surge, said he believed another surge of cases may somewhat counterintuitively come as the economy picks back up. “You don't want to file for bankruptcy when you're sliding down into the abyss, because to get out of bankruptcy you want to have a plan to pay your creditors. If things are getting worse, it's not a very good time to try to convince the court and the creditors,” he said, noting the pandemic likely gave cover to many at-risk companies last year to restructure their debt. Martin said that his firm is currently seeing bankruptcy cases filed for health care entities, mining and metal companies, and traditional retailers, among other industries. Porzio expects to hire more attorneys in Wilmington to help with a growing caseload, he added.