The unexpected bankruptcy filing of a defunct Massachusetts company raised the suspicion yesterday of a bankruptcy judge who said that he had "significant doubts" about the legality of the case, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Judge Brendan Shannon punted on the dismissal question Tuesday but ruled that a sale hearing, scheduled to take place today, connected to long-running litigation between Global Naps and Verizon New England Inc. could go forward. Absent Judge Shannon's ruling, the so-called automatic stay triggered by a bankruptcy filing would have prevented the hearing from taking place. Global Naps, a onetime local exchange carrier, has been under a court-appointed receiver's control since 2010 to ensure that it pays a $57.7 million judgment owed to Verizon New England from the lawsuit, which started as a fight over fees.
