the.com/bankruptcy
the legal art of admitting defeat so loudly the law finally lets you breathe.
means The formal legal process by which a person or business that cannot pay its debts is declared insolvent, allowing those debts to be reorganized or discharged under court supervision.
from From the Italian 'banca rotta,' literally 'broken bench.' The picture is vivid: medieval moneylenders in Italy conducted business at benches or tables ('banca' — the same root that gives us 'bank') in the marketplace. The popular story holds that when a lender failed and could no longer pay, his bench was physically broken to signal he was out of business — and whether or not every bench was literally smashed, the phrase stuck. It passed into French and then English, where the '-cy' ending turned the broken bench into the abstract condition of being financially shattered.
- ancient origin
- Named for Italian moneylenders' broken benches, banca rotta.
- famous filers
- Disney, Marvel, and Trump casinos all went bankrupt.
- chapter eleven
- Lets companies keep operating while restructuring billions in debt.
- fresh start
- US law was designed to forgive, not punish.
- twain too
- Mark Twain went broke betting on a doomed typesetter.
lehman brothers — investment bank collapse in 2008 that triggered the financial crisis
general motors — automotive giant filed chapter 11 in 2009 with $172.81 billion in assets
blockbuster video — entertainment rental chain with 9,000 stores filed in 2010
toys r us — toy retailer with 735 u.s. stores liquidated in 2018