Bankruptcy

The corporate owner of most Baltimore-area malls plans to emerge from bankruptcy this year under a restructuring plan that analysts say would put it in a stronger position to attract new tenants and reinvest in faltering properties. General Growth Properties, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year with $27 billion in debt, unveiled its reorganization plan during the past week. The new plan, if approved by a judge, would place the company on a better financial footing by wiping out mounds of debt.

For years, the Preakness has been run in Baltimore as if it might be the last time. Now, a rebounding economy, a new marketing strategy and its owner exiting bankruptcy appear to have solidified the race's future here. Corporate sponsorships for today's Preakness Stakes are up, according to organizers, and include newcomers such as the horse racing broadcaster HRTV and Iberia Airlines. Ticket sales are brisk as fans who pinched pennies last year are heading back to the races and as the "Get Your Preak On" marketing campaign — controversial to some — seems to have lured back the younger crowd who stayed away last year because of new rules against bringing in alcoholic beverages.

What we knew before former FBI director Louis Freeh's investigation into the coverup of child sexual abuse by former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky was bad enough, but as I listened to and then read Mr. Freeh's 200-page report, I was once again overcome with rage ("Report faults PSU leaders in abuse," July 13). We idolize the men and women who play various forms of "catch" for a living. Across the nation and around the globe, billions of dollars are made and spent on teams, fields, stadiums, naming rights and their associated amenities.

The parent company of Harborside Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore, which faced state sanctions for air-conditioning failures more than two years ago, has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to court documents. Ravenwood Healthcare Inc., based in Baton Rouge, La., listed $10 million to $50 million in liabilities and the same amount of assets, according to documents filed late last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Middle District of Louisiana.

The publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times, a weekly newspaper in the city since 1919, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday and blamed its financial woes on losing a legal fight over breaking a contract with its printer. Alter Communications, which also publishes Style and Chesapeake Life magazines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The filing will not affect the company's day-to-day operations for employees, readers and advertisers, the company said, and the Jewish Times and the magazines will continue to be published.

Recession has helped push the personal bankruptcy rate to a 10-year high.This year's filings should exceed the 1990 figure of 718,107, which was a 16 percent increase over the prior year.Much-publicized financial disasters of major corporations and public figures such as country singer Willie Nelson have made the concept seem more palatable.Some filings are necessary, the result of lost jobs or financial emergencies that can't be rectified. However, others attempt a quick fix, and are entered into casually without consideration of the consequences.

Two competing plans to take the Baltimore Jewish Times' publisher out of bankruptcy have been taken off the table, and talks continued Tuesday between the company and a key creditor after a judge approved an emergency cash infusion. Alter Communications Inc.'s lawyer, Alan M. Grochal, said Tuesday that two proposals for the bankruptcy court to consider recently fell through, although the major investors involved in each one are interested in working on new arrangements. He said negotiations are continuing, with a hearing scheduled Wednesday morning U.S. Bankruptcy Court to either present a plan or request more time.

The family owners of The Inn at the Black Olive in Fells Point hope a bankruptcy filing Thursday will give them time to try to attract investors and keep operating the 2-year-old boutique hotel, their bankruptcy attorney said. The Black Olive Development Co. LLC's Chapter 7 filing in Baltimore's U.S. Bankruptcy Court prevented a planned foreclosure auction of the 12-suite luxury inn on South Caroline Street from going forward Thursday morning. Chapter 7 permits an orderly liquidation of assets to repay creditors, but the case could be converted to a Chapter 11 reorganization if the company finds investors.

CHICAGO -- Business bankruptcy filings are down by 45 percent and corporate debt default rates remain near all-time lows. Yet bankruptcy pros are buzzing with anticipation. While they don't have crystal balls, call them cynical and firm believers in business cycles. Lawyers, consultants and financial advisers who work with troubled companies are getting ready for the next surge in business, which some predict may come as soon as the end of this year. "My experience over the last 20 years is that what goes up, must come down," said Jeff Marwil, a Chicago attorney who last month joined Winston & Strawn's larger bankruptcy practice.

Q: Where can people go for a mortgage if they have declared bankruptcy?A: Generally speaking, a bankruptcy filing has in the past ruined a person's credit rating for at least seven years. But today, according to Tom Champion, residential loan officer for Crestar Mortgage Corp., there are mortgage loan programs available to people as soon as two years after filing bankruptcy.The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Freddie Mac) guidelines for conventional loans say that, in case of bankruptcies, the bankruptcy discharge must be at least two years old and the borrower must have re-established and maintained good credit since then.