3M’s Aearo scores quick appeal of bankruptcy court’s ruling on earplug MDL

(Reuters) – By the end of 2023, we should have a much better idea about whether companies facing vast mass torts exposure can use the bankruptcy system to sidestep multidistrict litigation in federal court.

On Wednesday, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a petition by 3M Co subsidiary Aearo Technologies LLC to review a bankruptcy court’s decision refusing to block MDL litigation against the parent company despite Aearo’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The 7th Circuit order means that Aearo will not have to first challenge the ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey Graham of Indianapolis in federal district court, which is usually the first stop for bankruptcy appeals. Instead, Aearo can tell the 7th Circuit directly why it believes that more than 200,000 combat veterans should not be permitted to continue litigating their claims against 3M for selling allegedly defective earplugs in an MDL in Pensacola, Florida.

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The 3rd Circuit, as you probably recall, is weighing a parallel case. That court heard oral arguments last month about whether the bankruptcy of a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary can halt nearly 40,000 claims that J&J’s talc products

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October 15, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Celsius execs withdrew millions before bankruptcy, court filings show

LONDON – Top executives at Celsius Network withdrew at least US$30 million (S$43 million) of cryptocurrencies in the month before suspending customer withdrawals from the platform, according to bankruptcy court documents filed by lawyers for the crypto lender in New York late on Wednesday.

Then chief executive officer Alex Mashinsky, co-founder Daniel Leon and chief technology officer Nuke Goldstein, and entities identified in the documents as their related parties, made a series of withdrawals in May totalling more than US$30 million, these filings allege. Transactions were denominated in Bitcoin, Ether, USDC, Celsius’ own CEL token and “wrapped” Bitcoin.

Mr Mashinsky withdrew about US$10 million in cryptocurrency over the course of May, the filing shows. Mr Leon withdrew about US$7 million; net of deposits, his withdrawals amounted to about US$3.1 million, the documents show. The calculations include withdrawals by entities and people related to the executives, as designated by Celsius advisers.

Mr Goldstein withdrew around US$13 million. Lawyers for Mr Goldstein told Bloomberg that net of deposits, the withdrawals attributed to the CTO and related parties totalled about US$559,000.

A Celsius representative did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. Neither Mr Mashinsky nor Mr Leon returned multiple

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October 10, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Kabbage files for bankruptcy as it faces PPP fraud probes

Kabbage files for bankruptcy as it faces PPP fraud probes

Online lender Kabbage was one of the biggest lenders in the first year of the Paycheck Protection Program, processing more than $7 billion in loans.

But for more than two years, the company has also been dogged by questions of whether it was too lax in approving loans that it should have known were fraudulent.

Facing numerous federal investigations into its PPP lending practices, Kabbage or, to be more accurate, the shell of what was once Kabbage, filed for bankruptcy this week.

Kabbage was acquired by American Express in the fall of 2020. The credit card giant took the online lender’s technology and many of its employees, but left behind the PPP loan portfolio, which would be handled by a holding company that now does business under the name KServicing.

READ MORE: A felon, an alleged drug dealer and a comic: How some who may be ineligible got PPP loans

That holding company disclosed in the filings that it is currently facing investigations into its PPP lending practices from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Small Business Administration and two U.S. Attorneys, working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The

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October 8, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Celsius Executives Cashed Out Shortly Before Bankruptcy

Two executives of beleaguered cryptocurrency lender Celsius appear to have withdrawn millions of their own investments before the company suspended withdrawals and filed for bankruptcy, new court filings show.

According to a statement of financial affairs filed in New York bankruptcy court late Wednesday, former CEO Alex Mashinsky and former chief strategy officer Daniel Leon made multiple withdrawals from their cryptocurrency accounts in May, days before the company halted all such transactions.

Mashinsky and related parties withdrew approximately $10 million worth of bitcoin, ether, USD coin and Celsius’ CEL token, according to the documents. Leon may have withdrawn between $2 and $7 million.

Forbes previously reported that CTO Nuke Goldstein also made withdrawals.

His lawyers, however, disputed this interpretation of the transactions listed in the filings. “The reality is that Mr. Goldstein did not withdraw even one dollar in the four weeks prior to the pause—to the contrary, he deposited over $90,000 in CEL tokens in late May, just three weeks before the pause,” wrote Avi Weitzman and Leo Tsao of the Paul

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October 7, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Republican seeking Passaic sheriff post is coming off personal bankruptcy

The Republican candidate for Passaic County sheriff filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after falling more than $850,000 in debt, including unpaid taxes.

Mason J. Maher III, a Paterson police detective lieutenant who is challenging four-term incumbent Richard Berdnik, owed money to 27 different creditors, including five mortgages and loans on two Cadillac Escalades, along with $120,365 in credit card debt, court records show.

He owed $9,618 in unpaid federal and state income taxes.

The debt comes despite he and his wife, Jennifer reporting a combined annual income of over $193,000.  They listed their total monthly expenses as $10,557 and assets of $658,825.

Maher’s personal financial problems stemmed from a losses at a Hackensack nail salon owned by his wife.

“Like a lot of families who own small businesses, he and his wife ran into some tough times, but they pulled themselves out of it and even repaid their debts early,” said Chris Russell, a spokesman for Maher.  “This kind of personal smear won’t stick.”

His creditors included the Paterson Police Federal Credit Union.

In 2017, Maher received a $250,000 settlement for injuries he sustained in a car accident.  He was permitted to retain $23,675 of that, with $133,304 used to

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October 4, 2022 by ATTORNEY
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