Industry News

November 2026 In a negotiated bankruptcy, the same company can be worth par to one creditor and a fraction of face to another. Getty Images filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 in Delaware on October 21, carrying roughly $1.46 billion of funded debt and a restructuring support agreement already backed by holders of about 100% of its revolving loans, 90% of its secured funded debt, and 83% of its unsecured notes. The plan would eliminate more than $500 million of debt, with a confir

November 2026 Distress is concentrating in smaller companies, and the filing numbers now show it plainly. Subchapter V elections — the streamlined reorganization path for small businesses — totaled 2,442 in the first nine months of 2026, up 46% from 1,672 in the same period of 2025, according to Epiq AACER data reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute and tracked in Newpoint Advisors' Distressed Business Index. September alone saw 276 elections, up 38% year over year, an

November 2026 Retirement accounts are often assumed to be untouchable. A recent California decision shows how conditional that protection can be. In Bagby v. Davis, 118 Cal. App. 5th 652 (2026), the California Court of Appeal allowed a judgment creditor to levy on IRAs that traced to a cashed-out life insurance policy previously held in a pension plan. Two points decided the case. First, the life insurance exemption ended when the policy was surrendered — protection attached

November 2026 A judgment that is not renewed on time can expire — but time spent unable to sue does not always count against the creditor. On October 23, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in East Bay Company, Ltd. v. Brandon Scott Baxley that a bankruptcy automatic stay tolled the state's 10-year deadline for bringing an action to renew a judgment. East Bay held a Wake County judgment of $507,294.09, plus interest and attorneys' fees, entered in July 2010. The debtor fil

The public docket confirms sale and stipulation approvals, but sealed terms and unresolved claim-level issues prevent a reliable public recovery estimate.

The Second Circuit held that the FDIC's purely defensive setoff under California law was not a bankruptcy claim requiring a proof of claim—a narrow, fact-specific ruling.

A Delaware sale order approved the Amber Energy transaction; Reuters reported that a $5.9 billion creditor sale remained under appellate review in October 2026 and still required U.S. Treasury approval.

An English Commercial Court decision imposed a worldwide freezing order after finding a real risk of dissipation in a roughly $250 million aircraft-finance judgment enforcement dispute.

The CFPB's CashCall enforcement history and a related interpleader dispute illustrate why custody, control, competing claims, and bankruptcy risk matter after judgment.

AB 2116 establishes a California licensing and conduct regime for covered commercial financing, with the principal licensing provisions beginning January 1, 2028.

California AB 501 creates a new affidavit-based termination procedure effective January 1, 2027; secured parties may need prompt court action to prevent an unauthorized filing from taking effect.

The October 14, 2026 confirmation order establishes the plan framework, but unsecured recoveries remain dependent on claim allowance, distribution-group treatment, and available assets.