The original quote was:

> Xcor owes them a full refund, and the only reason it won't happen is due to bankruptcy protections

Implying that, absent bankruptcy protections, the customers would somehow get their money back. My point was that, even if bankruptcy protections didn't exist, and those debts couldn't be discharged, the customers are still never getting their money back because it was spent on R&D and the company itself is now valueless.

Ah ok, that makes sense :)

A company can go bankrupt but still have assets to pay back debts. Bankruptcy protection can apply in that case, if the business can somehow continue operating instead of simply be liquidated. But if the company has no assets to seize, bankruptcy protection doesn't apply...

> Bankruptcy is for failed companies

No, bankruptcy is not exclusively for failed companies.

And failed companies don't always go bankrupt.