Case timeline

1. Jan 52023
   Hearings: Sponsors seek to enforce plan releases against MDL plaintiffs

   After the plan became effective on December 16, 2022, supporting sponsors FR Sawgrass L.P. and SK Sawgrass L.P. moved to enforce the confirmed plan and confirmation order against the TPC Group MDL plaintiffs. They asked the court to rule that the so-called sponsor claims in the Port Neches litigation, including alter-ego, veil-piercing, and negligent-undertaking theories, were estate claims released under the plan and to enjoin further prosecution, arguing those releases were part of the consideration for sponsor forbearance and the restructuring bargain. The January 5, 2023 agenda put that dispute before the court. source filing source filing source filing

   The MDL plaintiffs objected that their claims are personal claims for injury, property damage, and business loss against nondebtor parties, not general estate causes of action, and said the plan preserved their ability to pursue them. The sponsors’ January 3 reply countered that Third Circuit law turns on the theory of liability rather than the nature of each plaintiff’s injury, and said relabeling the claims could not avoid the plan releases. That made the January hearing a real post-confirmation fight over the scope of nondebtor releases and sponsor exposure, not a routine calendar event. source filing source filing

   Sources and provenanceJanuary 5, 2023