Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that Houston-based Sabine Oil & Gas Corp. can reject contracts with two companies that gather, treat and transport oil and natural gas as part of their Chapter 11 restructuring. The decision is a huge blow to midstream energy companies, as these contracts were previously viewed as untouchable in bankruptcy.
Texas business bankruptcies jumped significantly in 2015, but lawyers and financial experts say last year’s increase is nothing compared to the tidal wave of corporate failures headed this way. Forty-eight oil and gas service companies and exploration and production companies filed for bankruptcy during the past 13 months, according to a report by Haynes and Boone. Eighteen prominent bankruptcy experts interviewed by The Texas Lawbook say they expect the number of oil and gas companies in Texas that file for bankruptcy in 2016 to double and that those bankruptcies will cause a domino effect that will spread to other business sectors. The Texas Lawbook provides an in-depth analysis.
Ryckman Creek Resources and its parent, Peregrine Midstream Partners filed for Chapter 11 reorganization earlier this week, following experts’ projection of an uptick in bankruptcy filings by energy companies this year as oil prices remain low.
More than two dozen Texas bankruptcy attorneys predict a 30 percent increase in bankruptcy filings if oil prices remain low, according to a study by HSSK.
A lawyer for Sam and Dee Wyly told U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge Barbara Houser that the tax evasion and tax fraud case brought by the Internal Revenue Service is nothing more than “a bunch of sound bites” and allegations that are not based on federal tax law.
A federal bankruptcy judge Wednesday approved the sale of Quicksilver Resources’ U.S. assets to Tulsa-based Bluestone Natural Resources II for $245 million.
U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge Barbara Houser told lawyers for Sam and Dee Wyly Wednesday that she has “a lot of heartburn” about some of the tax-free offshore trusts the Wylys established during the 1990s, which the judge said were created based on “flat out lies.”
A lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service on Monday confronted Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly with emails and legal memos from 2004 apparently showing that he was interested in knowing the legal and financial ramifications if he renounced his U.S. citizenship. The Texas Lawbook has full coverage of the billion-dollar bankruptcy trial of Sam and Dee Wyly., which is now in its second week.
Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly testified Friday that he filed for bankruptcy to force the Internal Revenue Service to “put up or shut up.” The 81-year-old former owner of Michaels Stores
The widow of Charles Wyly testified Wednesday that she knew nothing about the business dealings of her deceased husband and his family, including any knowledge about the offshore trusts the
The bankruptcy trial Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly and his sister-in-law Dee Wyly starts Wednesday. Billions of dollars are at stake. Each side plans to call up to three-dozen witnesses. The IRS says it will introduce 1,270 exhibits, while lawyers for the Wylys have another 837. U.S. Bankruptcy Chief Judge Barbara Houser has set aside four weeks to decide how much the Wylys owe in back taxes, fines and penalties for allegedly hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in trusts on the Isle of Man.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi ruled Thursday that Energy Future Holdings can move ahead on breaking up the company, setting the stage for Texas’ largest power company to emerge from bankruptcy court in the spring. The ruling effectively ends a fight among hedge funds and Wall Street tycoons that just six months ago appeared as if it might drag out for years.
© Copyright 2026 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.
