New York Bankruptcy Litigation » Bankruptcy News

Fortunoff Files For Bankruptcy, To Be Sold To Lord & Taylor

Jay Fleischman, New York Bankruptcy Attorney — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 22:28:12 +0000

I don’t usually post about big corporate bankruptcy cases, but this one hit home. Fortunoff, a major Long Island-based retailer, said today it has filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to be acquired for $100 million by the owners of Lord & Taylor. This is the second change in ownership for the Westbury-based home furnishing and jewelry chain in the past two years.

This seems to indicate that Fortunoff is somehow on the downward spiral, having failed to net the last owner enough profit to keep things going.

One step closer to liquidation of another local retailer? I’m no seer, but this doesn’t look good at all.

Vermont Bankruptcy Filings Drop 76 Percent Under New Laws

Jay Fleischman, New York Bankruptcy Attorney — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:20:28 +0000

The Burlington Free Press reports a drop of 76% in bankruptcy filings since the change in the US Bankruptcy Code that took effect in October 2005. But the writer of the article makes the point that this does not mean people are not in a bad financial situation - just that they are not seeking the protection of the bankruptcy laws at the same rate as before.

“It’s an appalling law and I’d like you to quote me on that,” Taylor said. “I think the law’s unfair and I think these are difficult times.”

The article conveys the fact that the laws have changed, but that the primary impact has been to increase costs and scare people away from the court system. These changes create “an illusion that fewer Vermonters are struggling financially,” according to the article.

Click here to read the article in full.

Quiet Before Storm In Bankruptcy Court

Jay Fleischman, New York Bankruptcy Attorney — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:08:32 +0000

This article, published in the Rocky Mountain News, discusses the fact that far fewer bankruptcy cases were filed in Colorado in 2006 than in the months leading up to the change in the bankruptcy laws in 2005. Though the article comes from thousands of miles from New York City, the story is the same as in our local courts. Filing as up as people realize that bankruptcy remains the only legal means of breaking free of harassing creditors and debt collectors.

Read the article by clicking here.