The first real round of the Bankruptcy Blog’s March Madness has concluded (no matter what they say, the play-in round is not “Round One,” as far as we’re concerned), and eight chapter 11 cases remain in contention for the dubious distinction of being the “bankruptcy for the ages.” In our Litigators’ bracket, the winners prevailed with their unflagging endurance as A.H. Robins’ durability edged out Texaco’s size and strength, while Anna Nicole Smith’s star power was not enough to prevail over Manville’s staying power. (Apparently not enough voters saw Naked Gun 33⅓ — if they had, there’s no chance Marshall would have lost this round). In any event, we look forward to an exciting mass tort battle between these two powerhouses.
In our other regions, Ionosphere invoked its equitable powers to upset #2 seed WorldCom, and Continental didn’t stand a chance against Enron’s clever tactics. Judge Gerber put up quite a showing in the “Heavy Industry” region, as GM/Chrysler handily rolled over Northern Pacific, and Lyondell overcame Vertis/ACG’s two-pronged attack. CIT went “one and done” and was out of the tournament almost as quickly as it was out of bankruptcy, having been overcome by GGP. Last, and certainly not least, Lehman predictably destroyed New Century – though we are curious about the 1.6% of you who voted against the “biggest” and “most complex” bankruptcy of all time . . . .
Remember to vote in this next round of the Bankruptcy Blog’s March Madness. Voting closes tomorrow, Tuesday, at 5:00 p.m. And don’t forget to let us know if you think we missed anything. We may just feature your suggestion in a feature on the “biggest losers” – the chapter 11 cases that didn’t quite make the cut in this year’s Sweet Sixteen.
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