Free Speech Systems, Alex Jones cases should stay separate, trustee says

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Dec. 14 – The U.S. trustee overseeing Free Speech Systems LLC’s Chapter 11 case objected to a motion for joint administration of owner Alex Jones’ recently filed case with Free Speech’s, according to court documents filed Wednesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Kevin M. Epstein, the U.S. trustee for Region 7, said that while joint administration is typically requested to promote efficiency and convenience in the cases of related debtors, in this case, it would instead cause confusion to creditors and other parties in interests and provide little, if any, added value.

“The debtors may be related, but the nature of their respective cases weighs against jointly administering the cases,” the U.S. trustee said in his objection.

Jones’ case is newly filed and will proceed under subchapters I-III of Chapter 11, while Free Speech’s base has been pending for almost five months and is proceeding under subchapter V.

As a result, the cases are subject to different provisions of the bankruptcy code, including different plan confirmation standards, different fiduciary parties, and different deadlines, that will necessitate a variety of significant pleadings filed on the docket that are applicable to only one or the other debtor, Epstein said.

“Jointly administering these cases would thus produce a docket with jumbled entries, some applying to the Jones case and some applying to the FSS case, which may create confusion to creditors and other parties in interest with no particular benefit or cost-savings to either the debtors or the court,” the U.S. trustee said.

“Most notably, such a docket presents the risk that creditors and other parties in interest may be less likely to understand both the rights and responsibilities of each debtor as well as how the rights and remedies available to the creditor or party in interest differ in each case.”

Epstein said that to the extent issues arise among the debtors that would benefit from a joint approach, the court has the discretion to set hearings in the two cases at the same time.

Austin, Tex.-based Free Speech Systems filed its bankruptcy case on July 29 under Chapter 11 case number 22-60043.

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