In Final Decision as He Retires From Bench, Judge Says Current Bankruptcy Law Allows Private Equity to 'Loot' Companies
Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain allowed a trustee in the bankruptcy for upstate New York grocery store chain Tops Market to proceed with a lawsuit alleging that Morgan Stanley, which had a controlling stake in Tops from 2007 to 2013, and other investors pushed Tops into Chapter 11 proceedings by paying themselves more than $375 million in stock dividends while neglecting to address the chain’s unfunded pension liabilities.