The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Friday said that it will hear direct appeals by seven groups of petitioners, including pension plans for Detroit's police and firefighters, regarding the city's eligibility for bankruptcy, Reuters reported on Friday. "Upon consideration of the petitions to appeal and the responses thereto, a direct appeal to this court is warranted," the court said in an order filed on Friday. It said it would not expedite the appeals for the time being. In a December ruling, Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said that Detroit was eligible to pursue its bankruptcy case. In his ruling, Judge Rhodes said Detroit met federal requirements for bankruptcy protection primarily because it was insolvent and negotiations with its thousands of creditors were not practical.
