WSJcomBankruptcyBeat

You are a construction company in Harlingen, Texas, the heartland of tough, that’s been around since 1937. You’re working at a San Antonio road project, already strained by fuel prices that are higher than what you forecast in your contract bid, when which of the following triggers your collapse:

1. Wind damage from a tornado.
2. Untimely delays from an understaffed inspections department.
3. An endangered spider that’s smaller than a dime.

It’s a lesson never to underestimate the power of small things.

A bankruptcy judge says a recent “flurry” of court filings by Heller Ehrman LLP may “dramatically” affect the defunct law firm’s quest to chase down unfinished business profits.

Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco handed Heller a mild scolding Saturday as he called for a status conference to discuss the new and “challenging” issues the firm’s lawyers have introduced as its remaining unfinished business lawsuits head to trial.

This week on The Broke and the Beautiful, Lou Pearlman’s bankruptcy trustee has filed a plan to repay investors, and Dionne Warwick is taking on the IRS. Also, the fight between Sly Stone and his ex-manager continues in bankruptcy court.