Appearances aside, we’re not quite ready to rename our blog The Am Law Bankruptcy Daily. For now, though, expect the steady stream of Chapter 11 news to continue.
The latest, in alphabetical order:
Foamex International
As its name might suggest, Foamex International is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of foam cushioning for cars, carpets, and home furnishings. And the recession has hit the debt-laden company hard.
Foamex, based in Media, Pa., previously filed for bankruptcy in September 2005, emerging in February 2007. But on Wednesday the company went Chapter 22–the bankruptcy term for repeat offenders–by filing for the court’s protection once again in Delaware. Foamex has secured $95 million in debtor-in-possession financing to continue operations.
Foamex has retained Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Cozen O’Connor‘s Mark Felger as co-bankruptcy counsel. Neither firm had yet filed billing information with the bankruptcy court.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison represented Foamex when it last went bankrupt. In that filing, the firm billed Foamex for roughly $6 million in fees and expenses.
Saab Automobile
Saab was forced to seek bankruptcy protection on Friday as its financially troubled parent–General Motors–announced that it could no longer fund the Swedish automaker–or find a buyer for it.
The Trollhättan, Sweden-based company has asked the Swedish government for assistance as it seeks to become an independent company once more. (GM bought a 50 percent interest in Saab in 1990 and took over the company a decade later.)
The Deal reports that a court filing by Saab in the Vänersborg District Court in Sweden proposes that Guy Lofalk of Stockholm’s Lofalk Advokatbyrå be appointed as administrator.
The New York Times reports that GM plans to hold on to its other European auto unit–Rüsselsheim, Germany-based Adam Opel–because it’s hoping the company receives a bailout from the German government.
Skyward Mobile
Skyward Mobile, a Wakefield, Mass.-based mobile application startup cofounded by a former staffer to Vice President Al Gore, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation in Boston on Wednesday.
Bankruptcy court records show that Skyward owes $192,000 to Cooley Godward Kronish and $188,000 to Boston IP firm Wolf Greenfield. Skyward listed assets of $6,593 and liabilities of more than $3.5 million.
Jesse Redlener of Andover, Mass., a former senior associate at Boston’s Nutter McClennen & Fish, is serving as Chapter 7 counsel to Skyward. Redlener had not yet filed billing information with the bankruptcy court.
Tribune Company
Five Am Law 200 firms have secured roles on the Chapter 11 filing by Tribune Company. But only Sidley Austin had the stones to test the limits of hourly compensation by tossing out a range of between $575 and $1,100 per hour.
The firm later attempted to clarify its billing situation, but U.S. bankruptcy judge Kevin Carey has now provided the ultimate clarification.
In a ruling handed down on Friday, Carey capped Sidley’s fees at a maximum of $925 per hour. According to bankruptcy records, Tribune owes Sidley roughly $1 million in fees for work done prior to its Chapter 11 filing in December.
James Conlan, cohead of Sidley’s bankruptcy and corporate reorganization practice, is leading a team from the firm advising Tribune on its restructuring.
WL Homes
Newport Beach, Calif.-based WL Homes, which does business as John Laing Homes, filed for Chapter 11 protection in Delaware on Thursday as the collapse of the residential housing market caught up to the 161-year-old developer.
According to WL’s bankruptcy filing, the homebuilder owes $214,281.57 to California firm Wood, Smith, Henning & Berman and $118,137.58 to Newport Beach firm Newmeyer & Dillion.
WL has retained bankruptcy boutique Pachulski Stang Ziehl & Jones, the same firm that is serving as bankruptcy cocounsel to defunct Heller Ehrman. Name partner Richard Pachulski in Los Angeles and bankruptcy partner Laura Davis Jones in Wilmington are leading a team from the firm.
Bankruptcy court records show that Pachulski Stang had received $1,076,000 in fees from WL for work done prior to the developer’s Chapter 11 filing. Pachulski bills $850 per hour and Davis Jones $795 per hour.
