It’s not typical for a bankruptcy court hearing to fall on a Saturday, and it’s nearly unprecedented for it to happen by phone.
But as the coronavirus has battered the U.S. economy, J.C. Penney must navigate almost entirely uncharted territory as it looks to shed debt and emerge from bankruptcy a stronger company. The iconic retailer filed for bankruptcy on Friday weighed down with $4.9 billion in debt and crushed by government mandates that ordered its stores shut.
J.C Penney’s financial and legal advisors called into the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Houston, Corpus Christi Division to make their first-day statements. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge David Jones authorized the retailer to continue paying non-furloughed associate wages, provide certain benefits to all associates, and to pay vendor partners in the ordinary course for all goods and services provided on or after the Chapter 11 filing date.
Law firm Kirkland & Ellis’ Josh Sussberg…
