A judge said that James River Coal Co. can pay up to $2.7 million in bonuses to its top executives, rejecting a challenge to the payments by the federal government’s bankruptcy watchdog, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens said yesterday that James River could pay the bonuses to nine top executives and approved a separate set of bonuses for 39 non-executives, with that pool totaling up to $1.4 million. U.S. Trustee Judy A. Robbins objected to the executive bonus plan because Judge Huennekens said that details of the bonuses could be filed confidentially with the court for competitive reasons. Robert B. Van Arsdale, an assistant to Robbins, argued that without publicly disclosing the terms of the packages, it’s impossible to know if they comply with the Bankruptcy Code.
