Articles by Bill Rochelle and Sherri Toub

Minnesota Diocese Files Chapter 11 over Sexual-Abuse Claims

The Archdiocese of Saint Paul & Minneapolis is the 12th U.S. diocese to seek bankruptcy protection to deal with sexual-abuse claims. The Chapter 11 filing on Jan. 16 in St. Paul follows legislation passed by Minnesota in May 2013 that …

Judge Denies Bid to Reopen Garlock Asbestos Liability Trial

Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC, the EnPro Industries Inc. unit that filed Chapter 11 in June 2010 to address asbestos claims, won a long-fought battle with personal-injury claimants when their request to reopen the record of a trial estimating the company’s …

Court to Hear Claim EnPro’s Garlock Hid Asbestos Evidence

Whether Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC, plaintiffs’ lawyers, or both are responsible for suppressing evidence related to asbestos claims against an EnPro Industries Inc. unit is a question to be decided Dec. 4 at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in …

MF Global Officers’ Defense Cost Already at $48 Million

Former officers and directors of MF Global Holdings Ltd. have already spent more than $48 million defending themselves from lawsuits, a sum U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn called “staggering” considering examinations under oath haven’t even begun. In a 23-page opinion …

Syncora’s Strategy in Detroit Bankruptcy Proceedings Backfires

Syncora Guarantee Inc., an opponent of Detroit’s municipal debt-adjustment plan, saw a legal strategy backfire when a judge ruled that the company made “scandalous and defamatory” allegations about the local chief U.S. district judge and mediator in the city’s bankruptcy. …

Freedom Industries’ Insurance Settlement Plan Favors Nonprofits

Freedom Industries Inc., whose leaking chemical tank made much of West Virginia’s water undrinkable early this year, filed a proposed Chapter 11 plan this week that offers nothing to people with claims for polluted water. Instead, proceeds from a settlement …

Asbestos Claimants Urged to Oppose Garlock Reorganization Plan

The official committee representing creditors with asbestos claims against Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC will urge its constituents to vote against the company’s reorganization plan, even though Garlock said it pays claimants in full. The official representative of future asbestos claimants, …