Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy again and is closing another 187 stores. I know the jokes and how people are puzzled that they’re still in business. However, there is a lesson here for plan providers....more
Bankruptcy law and privacy law may appear to be wholly separate areas of the law, but they overlap more than one might anticipate. Balancing individual rights and interests to achieve a social good is at the heart of both...more
The increasing use of unitranche financing, both domestically and abroad, has created new opportunities for middle market loan participants. However, lenders must understand the legal issues and potential bankruptcy risks...more
On May 11, 2016, the Delaware bankruptcy court issued an opinion in the RadioShack bankruptcy case addressing an intercreditor dispute between Salus Capital Partners, LLC, the “last out” lender in RadioShack’s prepetition...more
Personal data is a valuable corporate asset. At times, the personal information collected from customers (such as email address, mailing address, phone number, etc.) can be a company’s most valuable asset. Unfortunately,...more
When a portfolio company underperforms, a sponsor may consider various options to address the perceived performance issues, including changes to a portfolio company’s management team, cost structure, capital structure or...more
Five social media law issues to discuss with your clients - The explosive growth of social media has clients facing legal questions that didn’t even exist a few short years ago. Helping your clients navigate this...more
Customer information has become an increasingly valuable business asset. And, the volume and detail of other available information about consumers has increased along with it, well beyond mere customer names and addresses to...more
Be careful what you’ve promised your customers…or what has been promised about data you buy! In today’s world, consumer data is a huge asset for companies across all industries, in particular those in...more
When a bankrupt company’s most valuable assets include consumer information, a tension arises between bankruptcy policy aimed at maximizing asset value, on the one hand, and privacy laws designed to protect consumers’...more
Following the Texas Attorney General’s objection to the sale of RadioShack Corporation’s consumer data as an asset in its bankruptcy, 37 other state attorneys general and a large number of other consumer protection entities...more
In This Issue: - Second Circuit Rules Patriot Act Does Not Authorize Bulk Metadata Collection; Congress Reconsiders Certain Patriot Act Authorities - SEC Issues Cybersecurity Guidance for Investment Companies...more
As the market for so-called “unitranche” credit facilities continues to increase, the Delaware Bankruptcy Court had an opportunity recently to answer positively the question of whether bankruptcy courts will enforce the...more
On April 10, 2015, RadioShack, and certain affiliated debtor entities, proposed a bankruptcy sale of certain assets, including Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). Deposition testimony in the case revealed that, over...more
On May 13, an affiliate of Standard General LP agreed to pay $26.2 million for a portfolio of the bankrupt RadioShack Corp.’s intellectual property, including a database of 67 million RadioShack customer addresses, 8.5...more
Earlier this year, an affiliate of the hedge fund Standard General LP assumed more than 1,700 RadioShack® store leases in an auction sale in the electronics retailer’s bankruptcy. Standard General reportedly plans to partner...more
RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware bankruptcy court in February, seeking a court-supervised sale of $1.2 billion in assets. Included in the sale is a database of customer information from about 1,700...more
When it comes to customer data, privacy and value can be in direct competition. RadioShack’s latest move is a good example. Earlier this week, RadioShack, which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, commenced an...more
Uncertainty will hang over the upcoming bankruptcy auction of RadioShack’s intellectual property, franchise infrastructure, and customer data pending resolution of an ongoing struggle between RadioShack and several states’...more
In This Issue: - DOJ Issues Cyber Preparation and Response Guidance - RadioShack’s Plan to Auction Customer Data Highlights Issues Over Treatment of Such Data as an Asset - Google v. Vidal-Hall and...more
An auction of RadioShack assets which concluded this week included the names and physical addresses of 65 million customers and email addresses of 13 million customers. The auction result and transfer of assets is still...more
Cooley’s Corporate Restructuring & Bankruptcy Group was selected as co-counsel by the official committee of unsecured creditors in RadioShack’s chapter 11 proceedings, which began on February 5, 2014. Quinn Emanuel will also...more
Over the last several months, Judge Richard Posner has authored a triumvirate of opinions reversing the district courts’ approval, over objections, of consumer class action settlements—Eubank v. Pella Corp., 753 F.3d 718 (7th...more
The topic of potential self-dealing in class action settlements has been written about extensively. While class counsel may be fully aligned with the class in seeking to maximize the settlement, their interests diverge...more
In Redman v. RadioShack Corp., 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 18181 (7th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals joined a recent line of cases rejecting proposed class action settlements because the value provided to...more