Hon. Steven Rhodes has agreed to hear arguments on whether Gov. Rick Snyder and other top state officials should be deposed by labor unions in the city’s bankruptcy case, the Detroit News reported yesterday. Judge Rhodes set a hearing for Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. on whether to grant the state’s motion to protect Snyder, state Treasurer Andy Dillon and others from being forced to testify under oath in depositions requested by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 25 and the United Auto Workers. AFSCME, the UAW and a retiree group have also requested various records from state officials that could bolster their claims that the city negotiated in bad faith and is not eligible for bankruptcy protection. Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office has argued that the subpoenas have created “an unnecessary and undue burden” and are not relevant to whether Detroit is eligible for chapter 9. Judge Rhodes asked attorneys from the unions to explain “how each document request that is the subject of the motion is relevant to the factual issues” related to the city’s bankruptcy eligibility.
