Researching a Company's Legal Proceedings: Bankruptcy

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Factiva

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Factiva has a good interface for searching for articles about a company that are related to a specific topic such as bankruptcy.  To locate articles on a company's bankruptcy:

1. Open Factiva.  Click on the Companies/Markets link in the main menu.
2. Under Get Company Snapshot, enter the name of the company you're interested in.  Select the company from the options that appear or click Go and select it from the list of results.
3. In the Discovery Pane, under Subjects, there should be an option labeled Bankruptcy.  Clicking on Bankruptcy will allow you to view articles that are related to that company's bankruptcy proceedings.

If "Bankruptcy" is not an option in the Discovery Pane:

1. Go back to the default search page by clicking on Search in the main menu.
2. Expand the Company field.  Start to enter the name of the company you're researching and select it from the list that appears.
3. Expand the Subject field.  Start to type Bankruptcy and select it when it appears.
4. Click Search.
5. The options on the left side of the screen - including Date, Sources, and Keywords can help you further refine your search.

Bloomberg

Per the reference librarians at the UVA Law Library, Bloomberg Law is the preferred source for finding dockets from bankruptcy proceedings as it pulls directly from the US Court's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service.  We have limited access to Bloomberg Law through our Bloomberg terminals in the Capital Markets room.

To find dockets using Bloomberg Law:

1. Log into Bloomberg using the log in information next to the Bloomberg terminals.
2. Once in Bloomberg, open the Related Functions Menu.  Under Professional Applications, select 22) Bloomberg Law.
3. Under Litigation & Dockets, select 5) DCSH Docket Search.
4. In the Content Searches menu, select Bankruptcies.
5. Under Advanced Docket Search Options, enter the name of the Debtor in the Party field.  You can also select a different role and search for an appropriate party or use the additional search options.
6. Click on 1) Search.
7. If there is more than one case that meets your search criteria, you will be presented with a list of cases.  Select the case you're looking at.
8. You will be presented with a document with key information about the case.  Scroll down to Docket Entries to view the dockets in the case.
9. Under Action, each docket will either have View or Request.  If it says View, you will be able to view the full text of the docket in PDF form.  You will also be able to print or save the docket.
10. If the docket is only available to request, you will not be able to view the docket through Bloomberg.  See below for additional options.

Claims Agents' Websites

Claims agents are sometimes assigned to major bankruptcy cases to perform administrative functions including providing access to dockets through a website dedicated to the case.  Dockets pulled from claims agents' case websites should be checked against dockets from PACER (either through Bloomberg Law or PACER itself as described below) to ensure accuracy.  Still, claims agents' case websites can be a useful tool to identify what dockets you need to complete your research.

To utilize a claims agent website, you will have to figure out which claims agent is assigned to a case.  Depending on what bankruptcy court a case is in, finding this information can be relatively straightforward or require a bit of digging.

The following US Bankruptcy Courts maintain lists of which claims agent is assigned to their cases:

• Alabama, Northern District of - National Interest Cases (cases with external links go to a claims agent's website)
• Alabama, Middle District of - National Interest Cases (cases with external links go to a claims agent's website)
• Colorado, District of - High Interest Cases (not all cases have a claims agent)
• Delaware, District of - Claims Agency Cases
• Georgia, Southern District of (occasionally high-interest cases are posted in main menu)
• Illinois, Northern District of - Megacase Information
• Indiana, Southern District of - Megacases and Claims Agent Links
• Mississippi, Southern District of - Claims Agents
• Missouri, Eastern District of - Ch. 11 Megacases (may not have anything listed)
• Nevada, District of - Mega Cases (not all cases have a claims agent)
• New York, Southern District of - Mega Cases (not all cases have a claims agent)
• Texas, Northern District of - Claims Registers (not all cases have a claims agent)

If the case you're looking at is not in one of the courts listed above, try a web search for [Company name] bankruptcy dockets or [Company name] bankruptcy claims agent.  If you can't find anything, feel free to ask a librarian for help.

Please note that not all bankruptcy cases have claims agents assigned to them.

Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)

PACER is a service provided by the US Court system to allow public access to court records.  Anyone is able to make an account and search for and view dockets from bankruptcy cases, though there are small fees associated with using the service.  More information about the service can be found in the PACER Frequently Asked Questions.

In many cases, it may be helpful to contact the Law Library for more in-depth legal research guidance.

Contact Law Library reference

refdesk@law.virginia.edu
(434) 924-7465

The Darden reference librarians are also willing to contact the Law Library on your behalf.