Chapter 10

Chapter 10 bankruptcy rules were initiated in 1898, when people were still put in pauper’s prisons and hanged for theft. They were eliminated in 1978 under the Bankruptcy Reform Act. Most of the effective and manageable aspects of Chapter 10 were rolled into Chapter 11. Chapter 10 previously covered corporations with parameters for reorganization or liquidation that were overly complex and inflexible. Court-appointed trustees would be responsible for these decisions rather than management, which opened the door for collusion and poor decision-making with exorbitant costs, which led to its disuse in favor of Chapter 11.

There are probably thousands of recently laid-off Sears employees who would like to bring back capital punishment for CEO Eddie Lampert.