November 2022

Musk warns of Twitter bankruptcy as more senior executives quit

Nov 10 (Reuters) – Twitter Inc’s new owner Elon Musk on Thursday raised the possibility of the social media platform going bankrupt, capping a chaotic day that included a warning from a U.S. privacy regulator and the exit of the company’s trust and safety leader.

The billionaire on his first mass call with employees said that he could not rule out bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported, two weeks after buying it for $44 billion – a deal that credit experts say has left Twitter’s finances in a precarious position.

Earlier in the day, in his first company-wide email, Musk warned that Twitter would not be able to “survive the upcoming economic downturn” if it fails to boost subscription revenue to offset falling advertising income, three people who have seen the message told Reuters.

Yoel Roth, who has overseen Twitter’s response to combat hate speech, misinformation and spam on the service, resigned on Thursday, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

In his Twitter profile on Thursday, Roth described himself as “Former Head of Trust & Safety” at the company.

Roth did not respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg and tech site Platformer reported his exit first.

Earlier on Thursday, Twitter’s

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November 11, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Biomass company with plants in Maine files for bankruptcy

A company that owns biomass electricity plants in West Enfield and Jonesboro and had access to millions in state subsidies to help it stay afloat has filed for bankruptcy, stating it owes $17.8 million to creditors including an energy market investor, the states of Maine and New Hampshire, and Maine loggers.

Stored Solar LLC and all but one of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor. Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code provides a way for companies to reorganize their operations.

The filing comes six years after Maine lawmakers passed a $13 million bailout of the state’s biomass industry, which uses waste wood to produce electricity, with the aim of preserving electric plants and logging jobs.

Stored Solar was one of two companies to benefit from the subsidy package, which used taxpayer dollars to guarantee biomass producers above-market prices for their electricity. But the company, which bought the West Enfield and Jonesboro plants in 2016 after previous owner Covanta shut them down, only ran the plants intermittently following the bailout’s passage.

The West Enfield plant hasn’t produced power since December 2020 while the Jonesboro plant last produced power earlier this year,

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November 8, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Victim speaks out following Diocese of Rochester sexual abuse settlement

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — With a settlement reached involving the Diocese of Rochester, decades of sexual abuse claims, and several years of litigation, one victim and her attorney are speaking out.

In 2019, the Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy. It was the first in New York State to do so. Now, it will pay out $55 million to the survivors. News 8 spoke with one of them, who has served as a committee voice for more than 400 individual claims.

For years, Carol DuPre of Spencerport has spoken out about her claims of sexual abuse within the Diocese of Rochester.

In the mid 60s, DuPre says she was molested by a priest in Marion. At the time, she was around 16-years-old.

Over the years, DuPre has served as a voice for the hundreds of other victims.

“There’s a lot of hurt out there. I’m glad they’re taking the responsibility, which I hope will be taking the blame. But, I’m also hoping the other victims will find a way to find peace because I guarantee money won’t do that,” said DuPre.

Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston-based attorney, has represented nearly 100 victims in this case, including DuPre. He calls the settlement

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November 7, 2022 by ATTORNEY

Kahrig enters guilty plea to bankruptcy fraud charge

EAST ST. LOUIS — A former Edwardsville resident has pleaded guilty to making false statements during his 2018 bankruptcy case in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

Kevin Kahrig, 49, a former area building contractor, concealed assets from his creditors by transferring those assets to his girlfriend-turned-spouse, Catharine Kahrig, prior to filing bankruptcy, according to court documents.

All told, Kahrig concealed hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets from his creditors, according to United States Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. He could receive up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his Feb. 2, 2023 sentencing hearing in East St. Louis.

“Individuals who hide assets and make false statements on bankruptcy pleadings not only defraud their creditors, but they use the federal courts as a part of their fraud,” said Crowe.

“That is an intolerable abuse of the bankruptcy system which demands transparency and forthrightness by those seeking to have their debts discharged or restructured,” she said. “Those who engage in such behavior will be held accountable by this office.”

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter T. Reed.

As part of his Oct. 28 plea, Kevin Kahrig admitted

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November 6, 2022 by ATTORNEY

California Bar Details 205 Complaints Against Tom Girardi

Tom Girardi speaks to the press in 2014 as a lawyer for Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan who was severely beaten during a 2011 Dodgers game.

The California State Bar announced Thursday that it has received 205 complaints about prominent lawyer Tom Girardi in the last 40 years, acknowledging in a letter to the public that the agency’s handling of them “brought to light serious failures in the State Bar’s attorney discipline system.”

“There is no excuse being offered here; Girardi caused irreparable harm to hundreds of his clients, and the State Bar could have done more to protect the public. We can never allow something like this to happen again,” wrote Ruben Duran, chair of the bar’s Board of Trustees.

The letter includes a summary of each complaint and its disposition, with 136 complaints received between Aug. 10, 1982, and Dec. 17, 2020. Another 69 were received after a petition was filed on Dec. 18, 2020, to force Girardi’s law firm Girardi Keese into bankruptcy.

Of the 205 complaints, 120 alleged violations involving client trust accounts. Those accounts are where lawyers keep client money, and they’re subject to strict regulations that the court-appointed trustee for

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November 5, 2022 by ATTORNEY
November 2022
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