Borders Group Inc has won bankruptcy court approval to liquidate.

According to court documents, as many as 35 of the company’s stores could continue to operate as bookstores in some form if a last minute agreement with Books-A-Million Inc. can be reached. In court Thursday, Borders attorney Andrew Glenn said the two sides were still talking, but no agreement had been reached. The potential deal could save as many as 1,500 jobs.

A group of liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners will sell off Borders’ merchandise and furniture. The process will likely be started Friday and be completed by September, according to the court filing.

Under the liquidation plan, Borders will keep the rights to its brand name and leases and hold separate auction processes for those assets. Gordon Brothers unit DJM Realty will market the leases.

The agreement would likely yield between $250 million and $284 million that the company can use to pay back creditors.

If you need assistance with bankruptcy litigation, please contact a New Orleans Bankruptcy Litigation Lawyer of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC, by calling 504-599-5906.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed a new $65 billion bankruptcy liquidation plan Wednesday.

According to court documents, Lehman said it believed it had an “agreement in principle” with major creditor groups on the revised plan. The plan, if approved, would enable what remains the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chief Executive Bryan Marsal said he hopes to begin payments next year.

Under the new plan, many unsecured creditors would still recover only about one-fifth of the money they are owed. The company said the plan is different than its previous plan, filed in January, in that some sums will go to unsecured creditors of the parent rather than creditors of subsidiaries.

If your business is considering filing for bankruptcy, please contact the New Orleans Small Bankruptcy Liquidation Lawyers of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr. by calling 504-599-5906.

Consumer bankruptcy filings decreased seven percent nationwide in April.

According to a new report from the American Bankruptcy Institute using data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, overall consumer bankruptcy filing total for April reached 134,720, down from 144,490 filings in April 2010. Last month’s filings also represented a seven percent decrease from the previous month; March saw 144,657 consumer bankruptcy totals.

The percentage of Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings for April remained unchanged from March.
“As consumer debt levels fall and families continue to shore up their finances, bankruptcy filings will continue to drop as well,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, Executive Director of the American Bankruptcy Institute. “Consumer bankruptcies for 2011 will likely dip below the 1.5 million filings recorded last year.”

If you are considering bankruptcy, please contact the New Orleans Bankruptcy Lawyers of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., by alling 504-599-5906.

A federal judge on Thursday approved the bankruptcy plan of the company that took over the bad assets shed by General Motors two years ago.

Judge Robert E. Gerber of United States Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said he will allow for the distribution of stock and warrants to unsecured creditors who filed claims against the company, the Motors Liquidation Company.

Motors Liquidation took over certain claims and assets from General Motors when the automaker reorganized in bankruptcy court in June 2009. GM’s best assets were sold to a new, stand-alone company.

Tim Yost, a spokesman for AlixPartners, the firm running the liquidation of Motors Liquidation said Thursday the company “was pleased that the court today indicated from the bench that it will be confirming M.L.C.’s plan for reorganization and issuing a written decision as soon as feasible.”

If you are facing bankruptcy, please contact the New Orleans Bankruptcy Attorneys of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC, by calling 504-599-5906.

Constellation Energy Group was given permission to purchase five Boston Generating LLC power plants for $1.1 billion this week by a U.S. bankruptcy court.

Boston Generating, a unit of the US Power Generating Co, originally arranged the sale to Constellation Energy as part of their bankruptcy plan, but were waiting for the court’s approval to go ahead with it.

The five Boston-area plants together provide a combined 2,950 megawatts, making them the third-largest power generating unit in New England.

Boston Generating was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in August after being unable to generate sufficient cash to service its debt and fund operations.

If you are facing bankruptcy, contact the New Orleans bankruptcy lawyers of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC by calling 504-599-5906 to discuss your legal situation.

Bensalem, Pennsylvania-based Orleans Homebuilders this week sought court approval this week for a $155 million loan. The company filed for bankruptcy protection last March after defaulting on a credit facility.

The loan would facilitate the company’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and be composed of a $125 million term loan and a revolving credit of $30 million.

JPMorgan Securities LLC is the sole lead arranger and bookrunner for the financing.

If you are facing bankruptcy, contact the New Orleans bankruptcy lawyers of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC by calling 504-599-5906 to discuss your legal situation.

According to a report issued last week by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, U.S. bankruptcy filings have reached their highest levels since 2005.

The report showed that there were 422,061 bankruptcy filings between April and June this year, an increase of 9 percent from 388,148 in the prior three-month period, and up 11 percent from 381,073 a year earlier.

For the year ending June 30, there were 1.57 million bankruptcies, up 20 percent from 1.31 million a year earlier. Consumer bankruptcies rose 21 percent to 1.51 million, and business bankruptcies rose 9 percent to 59,608.

“We know the causes of bankruptcy are principally job losses and health care, with the overlay of the foreclosure crisis,” said Deborah Thorne, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio University. “It feels very unsettled, and I’m not surprised the numbers are going up. Until we get our feet on the ground, provide decent-paying jobs, and do something with the housing crisis, bankruptcies will continue to go up.”

If you or someone you know is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, contact the New Orleans Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers of The Law Offices of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC at 504-599-5906 to learn more about your rights.

The Lehman Brothers bankruptcy has produced to date over $1 billion in fees, paid out to advisers, lawyers, and bankers over the past two years.

On average, the financial firm has paid over $40 million a month for the last 2 years.

At the time of the firm’s collapse in September 2008, it was running $639 billion in assets. Experts claim that the fees are coming at the expense of creditors seeking to be repaid, while rising daily.

“If you are a creditor, every dollar that is going to (debtor) counsel is a dollar not going to a creditor,” said Stephen French, a managing partner at Legalbill, a Tennessee company that advises companies on managing their legal bills.

Alvarez & Marsal, the advisory firm running Lehman in the United States, has said that his firm’s work has improved recovery for creditors by more than $5 billion and that these increases justify the fees of hiring a huge number of advisers and accountants not only in the United States, but to close up shops throughout Asia and Europe.

Lehman expects to emerge from bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2011. Then, it can start paying back creditors.

If you or someone you know is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, contact the New Orleans Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers of The Law Offices of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC at 504-599-5906 to learn more about your rights.

Malcom Bell, the Illinois hedge fund manager who played a part in the recent Petters Co. Inc. fraud scheme, was sentenced this week in federal court to six years in prison.

The 45-year-old owned Lancelot Investment Management, which had invested all of its money in PCI promissory notes. When PCI fell behind in paying notes held by Lancelot, Bell devised a plan to fool investors and make it seem like the note were being paid off.

In his plea bargain, Bell admitted that he had obtained more than $200 million from investors.

If you or someone you know is considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, contact the New Orleans Chapter 11 bankruptcy lawyers of The Law Offices of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC at 504-599-5906 to learn more about your rights.

Nationwide bankruptcy filings reached their highest levels of the last five years between April and June, according to government data released last Wednesday. This represented an increase of 11 percent from the same time period in 2009.

422,061 bankruptcy filings were reported during that time period this year as opposed to 381,073 during the same time frame in 2009. Filings between January and March of this year numbered 388,148.

Quarterly filings have not exceeded 400,000 since a record 667,431 were filed in the fourth quarter of 2005.

Consumer bankruptcies jumped 21 percent, to 1.51 million, from the same time last year.

If you find yourself in this unfortunate position, contact the New Orleans Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyers of The Law Offices of the Law Office of David D. Kervin, Jr., LLC at 504-599-5906 as soon as possible to discuss your financial options.