Before Detroit filed its record-setting bankruptcy, it fought a “running gun battle” with Syncora Guarantee Inc. to protect its best source of cash from the bond insurer, said Kevyn Orr, the city’s emergency manager, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. That dispute, other court fights and tough negotiations with unions and additional creditors persuaded Orr to choose a bankruptcy filing, he testified yesterday at a trial in Detroit to determine whether the city can remain under court protection. To remain in bankruptcy, the city must show that it’s insolvent, that it’s entitled under state law to file for bankruptcy, that it tried to negotiate with creditors or was unable to do so, and that it intends to file a plan to adjust its debts.
