RadioShack Granted Motion for Fast-Track Hearings on Sale of Leases for Closing Stores

Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon in Wilmington, Delaware, granted RadioShack’s motion Thursday for a fast-track hearings schedule on the sale of leases for the approximately 2,250 stores it’s closing in the wake of its Feb. 5 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing (see 1502060023). “Good cause and compelling circumstances” warrant the expedited schedule, RadioShack said in its motion, which also was filed Thursday. RadioShack has the “opportunity to secure value for leases” on the closing stores, but must conclude the lease sale process by Feb. 28 to avoid incurring rent and other related expenses that would be due March 1, the motion said. Pursuant to RadioShack’s motion, the court scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to set lease bid procedures and another for Feb. 25 to approve the sale of the leases, Shannon’s order said. He scheduled a Feb. 20 hearing on objections in the case, including a motion for adequate protection filed Feb. 8 by Waste Management, which provided hauling services for roughly half the RadioShack stores nationally, its motion said. RadioShack has moved to have WM classified as a utility. Doing so would force WM to continue to provide hauling services for RadioShack, including for its massive store liquidation sales, and extend the chain $1 million or more of credit "without any reasonable assurance of payment," the hauler said. "As a result of its pre-petition service to RadioShack, WM accrued over $835,000 of unpaid pre-petition receivables in the three months leading up to these chapter 11 filings," the company said.