{"id":224592,"date":"2026-04-09T09:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224592\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T09:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T09:40:12","slug":"six-years-later-stein-mart-inc-bankruptcy-case-set-to-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/224592\/","title":{"rendered":"Six years later, Stein Mart Inc. bankruptcy case set to close"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stein Mart Inc., previously a \u00a0large and profitable fashion Jacksonville-based retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed its stores in 2020.<\/p>\n

The Chapter 11 plan to pay off debts was confirmed by the court in April 2021, but the case lived on.<\/p>\n

Now five years after confirmation, the case is finally closing.<\/p>\n

The wind-down debtors and plan administrator filed a motion April 2 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, to close the case.<\/p>\n

The motion said more than 4,800 claims were filed against the company and the plan administrator has been working to resolve the claims over the last five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis effort has resulted in the Plan Administrator being able to pay all Allowed secured, administrative and priority Claims and make two distributions to holders of Allowed General Unsecured Claims in accordance with the terms of the Plan, resulting in an aggregate recovery to the holders of Allowed General Unsecured Claims of 10.3% to date,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\"Jay<\/p>\n

Jay Stein<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of the date of this Motion, substantially all known assets have been recovered and\/or monetized. Further, all motions, contested matters, and other proceedings have been resolved,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Stein Mart was a more than century-old company which moved its headquarters to Jacksonville in 1984 and expanded into a major national chain of retail stores under CEO Jay Stein, grandson of the founder.<\/p>\n

The company went public in 1992, a time when IPOs were not as common, and was a successful public company for many years.<\/p>\n

Stein Mart began struggling in the late 2010s and was not able to survive the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, filing for Chapter 11 in August 2020 and closing its 281 stores over the next two months.<\/p>\n

Stein Mart still exists as an online business<\/p>\n

Stein Mart still exists as an online business at steinmart.com, but that business has no connection to the previous company led by Stein.<\/p>\n

Stein Mart\u2019s intellectual property was sold for $6.02 million in a December 2020 bankruptcy court auction to Retail Ecommerce Ventures.<\/p>\n

REV was a Miami-based company formed in 2019 to acquire the rights to defunct retail brands and relaunch them online.<\/p>\n

REV operated the Stein Mart website, but in December 2023 its assets were foreclosed on and eventually acquired by Illinois-based Omni Retail Enterprises LLC, which operates steinmart.com and other retail sites today.<\/p>\n

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit in September 2025 against three officials of REV alleging they had fraudulently sold securities in Stein Mart and seven other retail brands including RadioShack, Pier 1 and Dress Barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe complaint further alleges that Defendants transferred at least $5.9 million in investor proceeds directly between portfolio companies, contrary to the written and oral representations made to investors about the use of proceeds; that at least $5.9 million of the returns distributed to investors were, in reality, Ponzi-like payments funded by other investors,\u201d the SEC said in a news release when it filed the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit said the group raised $112 million from investors between April 2020 and November 2022, including $14.2 million for Stein Mart.<\/p>\n

However, the SEC alleged the group made fraudulent statements about the companies.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, REV co-founder Taino Lopez, one of the defendants, sent an email to investors in February 2021 saying \u201cDress Barn and Stein Mart were \u2018on fire\u2019 and \u2018cash flow is strong,\u2019 that \u2018there are plenty of public companies operating at heavy losses\u2019 but that\u2019s \u2018not us,\u2019 and that REV had \u2018brands with a positive EBITDA.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the suit said internal financial statements for Stein Mart reported net losses of nearly $1.7 million in 2020 and $5.7 million in 2021.<\/p>\n

A Feb. 27, 2026, motion filed in the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said the parties \u201ccontinue to be in active\u201d in \u201cdetailed settlement negotiations\u201d to resolve the case.<\/p>\n

Duos exiting railroad technology business<\/p>\n

Six years ago, Duos Technologies Group Inc.\u2019s main business of railroad safety technology was poised to grow as the rail industry was focused on improving safety on its tracks.<\/p>\n

However, the Jacksonville-based company\u2019s growth was slowed by the pandemic, and the railroad technology business never regained its momentum.<\/p>\n

Duos began expanding with data center and infrastructure technology subsidiaries two years ago. With those businesses more promising, Duos is exiting the railroad technology business.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the previous calls, we had discussed that this line of business has become less important to our future at Duos,\u201d CEO Doug Recker said in a March 31 conference call to discuss year-end results, according to a company transcript.<\/p>\n

\"Doug<\/p>\n

Doug Recker<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also talked about diversifying our business strategy to edge computing. Thus, we have made the decision to completely divest the rail division. This divestiture is expected to take place over the next 60 days,\u201d he said, without providing further details of the divestiture plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision did not come lightly, and I know the rail technology has a rich history with Duos\u2019 shareholders,\u201d Recker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of growth and regulatory hurdles for that business have proved to be extremely challenging to manage. The decision to divest frees up company resources and cuts significant SG&A (selling, general and administrative) expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duos reported 2025 revenue of $27 million, including $22.4 million from an agreement with Jacksonville-based APR Energy to manage power plant assets. But that agreement is scheduled to end later this year.<\/p>\n

Despite the end of that contract, Duos is projecting revenue to reach $50 million to $55 million this year, Chief Financial Officer Leah Brown said in the call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis forecast reflects growth from both our core operations and newer initiatives,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur investment and expanded revenue opportunities give us confidence in our ability to execute and continue building a stronger, more profitable company,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Duos reported a net loss of $9.8 million in 2025 but Brown said the company was making progress toward profitability with positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the third and fourth quarters, saying that \u201creflects the early benefits of revenue scale and margin improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Redwire headquarters at 8226 Philips Highway, Suite 101, in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

File imageRedwire stock rises as Artemis II uses its technology<\/p>\n

Redwire Corp.\u2019s stock rose after announcing April 1 that its technology would be used in the Artemis II moon mission.<\/p>\n

The Jacksonville-based space and defense technology company said the mission\u2019s Orion spacecraft would use Redwire\u2019s advanced optical imaging and sun sensor technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough contracts with Lockheed Martin, NASA\u2019s prime contractor for Orion, Redwire is responsible for the production and testing of the Orion Camera System for Artemis missions I-V,\u201d the company said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Redwire cameras on board Artemis I successfully captured imagery and video, including livestream views from the solar array wing cameras that were made available to the public throughout the mission,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

After announcing its connection to the mission before the Artemis II launch April 1, Redwire\u2019s stock rose as much as $1.44 to $9.94 over two days, a 17% gain.<\/p>\n

Cadrenal expresses optimism about treatment in development\"Pham\"<\/p>\n

Pham<\/p>\n

Ponte Vedra Beach-based Cadrenal Therapeutics Inc. reported a loss of $13.2 million for 2025, as the pharmaceutical research company continues development of treatments but has no products on the market.<\/p>\n

The company expressed optimism about its treatments, including a product it calls CAD-1005 to treat heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, a complication of taking the drug thinner herapin. Cadrenal completed a second phase trial for the treatment March 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite modern care, mortality remains high (up to 18-20% in some groups), with many survivors facing limb amputations,\u201d CEO Quang Pham said in a March 31 news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe encouraging Phase 2 results, including the reduction in thrombotic events observed on top of standard anticoagulant therapy, further strengthen our confidence in the program and in the decision to make CAD-1005 our lead development priority,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The RYAM cellulose specialties plant in Fernandina Beach.<\/p>\n

RYAM says fire at plant not having material impact<\/p>\n

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., or RYAM, said a fire occurred April 4 at its Jesup, Georgia, plant during a scheduled maintenance outage, but it was quickly contained and caused no injuries.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville-based RYAM said the plant is resuming operations with one production line not operating because of the fire. But the maker of cellulose specialties products does not expect any material impact on its ability to supply customers.<\/p>\n

RYAM has been struggling, reporting seven straight years of losses from continuing operations.<\/p>\n

However, its stock was the best performer of all Jacksonville-based companies in the first quarter this year, jumping 88% in an overall down market.<\/p>\n

RYAM\u2019s stock spiked in late February after American Industrial Partners disclosed it made an offer to buy the company.<\/p>\n

RYAM\u2019s board of directors rejected the offer in December. AIP said it is still interested in buying the company, but only if the board supports it.<\/p>\n

\"FIS<\/p>\n

FIS Global Headquarters, 323 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville.<\/p>\n

FIS reducing size of board by one<\/p>\n

Fidelity National Information Services Inc., or FIS, is reducing the size of its board after director Mark Benjamin decided not to stand for re-election at the company\u2019s annual shareholder meeting.<\/p>\n

Benjamin, former CEO of Nuance Communications Inc., had served on the board of the Jacksonville-based financial technology company since 2023.<\/p>\n

FIS said in an SEC filing Benjamin\u2019s decision was not due to any disagreement with the company.<\/p>\n

FIS said instead of seeking a replacement, the board approved a decrease in the size of the board from 10 to nine directors.<\/p>\n

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