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December 6, 2004
U.S. Business Bankruptcy Filings Down in Fiscal ’04
Bankruptcy filings by U.S. businesses fell 3.8 percent in fiscal
2004, court officials said Friday. Business bankruptcies totaled 34,817
for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, down from 36,183 a year
earlier, according to a report from the Administrative Office of the
U.S. Courts. Overall, 1.61 million bankruptcy petitions were filed in
fiscal 2004 compared with 1.66 million the previous year, the report
said. Personal bankruptcy filings dropped 2.6 percent, to 1.58 million
from 1.63 million a year earlier, the report said.
Judge Orders Review of WorldCom-Related Fees
Southern District of New York Judge Jed Rakoff, has barred
telecommunications giant MCI from making additional payments to the law,
accounting and consulting firms guiding it through bankruptcy that have
not already been approved through the budgeting system set up by the
court, the New York Law Journal reported. The judge ordered
MCI and any firms under question to file affidavits explaining why his
budgeting procedure was not followed and justifying the expenses by 5
p.m. today.
Judge Lifts Asset Freeze In U.S. Tax Shelter Case
A federal judge has lifted a rare freeze on more than $500 million in
assets of thousands of doctors and dentists who invested through San
Diego company Xelan, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
The order lifting the freeze, issued on Friday by a judge in the U.S.
District Court in San Diego, reverses an order by another federal judge
issued on Nov. 4 that temporarily froze the assets while the government
pressed its case against Xelan, the newspaper reported.
California Churh to Settle Abuse Suits for Record Amount
A Roman Catholic diocese in California has made a record settlement
in 87 lawsuits by people who claimed they were abused, a source close to
the case said on Friday, Reuters reported. The diocese in Orange County
reached the settlement late on Thursday, a spokesman for the church
said. The amount has not been disclosed because of a court-imposed gag
order, but one source close to the cases said the average was about $1
million each—more than the record $85 million paid by the
Archdiocese of Boston to settle 500 sex abuse lawsuits. The Boston
archdiocese threatened to declare bankruptcy, and closed 65 parishes
after the settlement. Roman Catholic dioceses in Portland, Oregon, and
Tucson, Arizona, declared bankruptcy earlier this year after facing
multimillion-dollar legal verdicts from pending lawsuits, the newswire
reported.
United Airlines to Cut Up to 825 Jobs
UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, on Friday said it would lay off
up to 825 ramp and customer service workers as the airline continues its
fight to emerge from bankruptcy, Reuters reported. The carrier said the
cuts will hit 18 hubs and airports and take effect Jan. 6. The workers
received notice on Thursday that job cuts are imminent, but some
employees may remain with the carrier in other jobs.
WestPoint Stevens Gets Reorganization Plan Extension
WestPoint Stevens said on Friday the U.S. Bankruptcy court has
extended its right to file a plan of reorganization through Jan. 20,
2005, Reuters reported. The company is “nearing the final stage of
negotiations with its creditors regarding an exit from
bankruptcy,” WestPoint Stevens president and chief executive M.L.
“Chip” Fontenot said in a news release.
Halliburton: Court Clears Asbestos Deal
Halliburton Co. on Friday said a federal court had signed an order
that would end the company’s asbestos liability later this month,
clearing another hurdle for two of its subsidiaries to emerge from
bankruptcy, Reuters reported. The Halliburton subsidiaries, Kellogg
Brown & Root and DII Industries, filed bankruptcy in December 2003
to facilitate the $4.2 billion asbestos and silica settlement. That
settlement was approved by a bankruptcy court in July.