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Hatch, Leahy Agree On Asbestos 'Summit'
Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and ranking member
Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have agreed to participate in an asbestos
litigation 'summit' proposed earlier this month by Sen. Christopher Dodd
(D-Conn.) as a way to try to reach consensus on a reform bill this year,
CongressDaily reported. Sources said they expect the gathering to
occur next week and that it will be a closed-door meeting. Yesterday,
Sens. Hatch and Leahy reiterated their desire to reach a bipartisan
consensus on an asbestos litigation reform bill. Speaking at a committee
business meeting on an unrelated topic, both senators also expressed an
interest in seeing legislation completed this year, reported the
newswire.
Kmart, Fleming Reach Settlement On Outstanding Claims
Kmart Corp. and its former food distributor, Fleming Cos., have reached
a claims settlement that calls for Kmart and an investor to pay $37
million in cash to Fleming on March 28, Dow Jones reported. In a
Thursday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago, Kmart said it
has reached a settlement to allow Fleming $385 million of a $1.47
billion pre-petition claim that Fleming filed earlier this month against
Kmart. Kmart filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2002, reported
the newswire. Under a reorganization plan filed by Kmart in January,
Fleming and other trade vendors will be awarded about 10 percent of the
value of their pre-petition claims in the form of stock in the
reorganized Kmart, according to Dow Jones.
Evolve Software Files for Chapter 11
San Francisco-based Evolve Software Inc. and two affiliates filed for
chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Dow Jones reported. In the filing, the
business-software maker listed $7.8 million in total assets and roughly
$8.1 million in debts as of Dec. 31. Affiliates Evolve Software Europe
Ltd. and Evolve Canada Inc. also filed bankruptcy petitions. Court
papers indicated Evolve Software filed for bankruptcy to sell nearly all
of its assets and that the company plans to file motions shortly seeking
court approval of bidding procedures. Evolve President Linda Zecher said
in an affidavit that the company has signed an agreement to sell nearly
all of its assets to Primavera Inc. for $13 million, reported the
newswire.
ANC Rental Gets Extension Of Exclusive Plan Periods
A bankruptcy court gave ANC Rental Corp. four-month extensions on the
periods during which it has the exclusive right to file a reorganization
plan and solicit plan support, Dow Jones reported. ANC Rental said it
will use the time to negotiate a plan with the committee of its
unsecured creditors and with its lenders. The order signed by Judge Mary
F. Walrath of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., extends ANC
Rental's exclusive plan-filing period through July 6. It extends through
Sept. 4 the period during which the company has the sole right to obtain
votes for a plan, reported the newswire.
Court Confirms Easyriders' Chapter 11 Liquidation Plan
The court overseeing Easyriders Inc.'s bankruptcy case has confirmed the
company's joint chapter 11 liquidation plan, but the plan hasn't yet
become effective, an attorney representing the committee of the
company's unsecured creditors said on Thursday, Dow Jones reported. The
company and the committee proposed the plan together. Louis E.
Kempinsky, of the law firm Peitzman Glassman Weg & Kempinsky LLP,
told Dow Jones Newswires that he hopes the plan will take effect
sometime in the next week. Judge Arthur M. Greenwald of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Woodland Hills, Calif., signed a confirmation order
on March 13. The plan calls for establishing a liquidating trust to pay
claims to creditors. Members of the unsecured creditors' committee are
to serve as liquidation trustees, according to the plan, reported the
newswire.
US AIRWAYS
US Air Gets Nod To Start Alternative Claims Resolution
US Airways Group Inc. received permission from a bankruptcy court to
start an alternative dispute resolution program for claims pending
before the company filed for chapter 11 protection, Dow Jones reported.
The ruling on Wednesday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va.,
allows the air carrier to resolve claims by negotiation or mediation in
an expedited fashion. US Airways said negotiation would provide a
cost-effective way to resolve claims through the exchange of written
offers between the parties. If the parties reach a settlement, the
agreement would be binding and subject to the court's approval, the
company said, reported the newswire.
US Air: Pension Talks With Pilots' Union At Impasse
Critical negotiations between US Airways and its pilots' union on an
underfunded pension plan have reached an impasse, the airline's lawyer
told a judge on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The lawyer,
John W. Butler Jr., also told the judge that bookings have dropped 20
percent in the past week and the airline is seriously considering
implementation of a wartime emergency plan that lets the airline reduce
its fleet size and cut wages of its unionized workers by 5 percent. But
a spokesman for the pilots' union said negotiations were ongoing and
accused the airline of grandstanding, reported the newswire. US Airways
is trying to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the month.
Separately, Dow Jones reported that the airline notified Retirement
Systems of Alabama, the main lender in the company's
debtor-in-possession facility, that the airline failed to meet a
'critical' covenant under the facility and missed payments on trust
certificates.
Burlington Industries Seeks OK To Sell Equipment For $4
Million
Textile company Burlington Industries Inc. is asking the bankruptcy
court overseeing its chapter 11 bankruptcy to approve the results of an
auction of company's equipment, Dow Jones reported. Gibbs International
Inc. submitted the winning bid of $3.95 million for the company's
manufacturing equipment, according to court papers. A hearing on a
proposed agreement is scheduled for April 3. Under the agreement, the
deal would close within three days of court approval. The U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., earlier this month approved new
auction procedures for Burlington after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. withdrew
its $579 million bid for the company. The court set May 28 as the
deadline to submit bids for the fabric company's stock or assets,
reported the newswire.
Ntelos Seeks OK To Sell Customer Service Center For $6.9 Million
Ntelos Inc. is asking the court overseeing its bankruptcy case to
approve a $6.9 million deal to sell a Portsmouth, Va., building that
housed a customer service call center, Dow Jones reported. The
telecommunications company plans to sell the property to Tri-City
Developers LLC, according to a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Richmond and obtained by Dow Jones Newswires. Tri-City
Developers paid Ntelos a $100,000 deposit. The sale agreement proposes
that the deal close within five days of court approval. A hearing on the
sale is scheduled for April 16, reported the newswire.
Court OKs Safety-Kleen Chapter 11 Plan Disclosure Statement
A bankruptcy court on Thursday approved the adequacy of the disclosure
statement for Safety-Kleen Corp.'s proposed reorganization plan, Dow
Jones reported. Chief Judge Peter J. Walsh of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Wilmington, Del., approved the statement after overruling four
objections, saying they were without merit. Safety-Kleen resolved three
other objections before Thursday's hearing. Judge Walsh's order
scheduled a hearing to consider confirming the plan on May 5 at 1:30
p.m. Creditors have filed 17,400 claims totaling more than $181 billion
against Safety-Kleen, according to the disclosure statement, reported
the newswire.
Fullplay Media Systems Files For Chapter 11
Fullplay Media Systems Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in Seattle, according to a Form 8-K filed on Thursday
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dow Jones reported. The
bankruptcy petition was filed Wednesday and listed assets of up to
$500,000 and debts of up to $1 million. Fullplay Media's bankruptcy
petition said the company has retained Smith & Hennessey to serve as
special litigation counsel in matters related to Trans World
Entertainment. The company also has retained Spencer Law Offices in
defense of a lawsuit. Fullplay Media's chapter 11 matters will be
handled by the law firm of Seattle-based Riddell Williams P.S., reported
the newswire.
HealthSouth Fraud Charges Raise Risk of Bankruptcy
HealthSouth Corp. may face bankruptcy unless bondholders and bankers
restructure the company's debt, analysts said, Bloomberg News reported.
Chief Executive Officer Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth were accused by
the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission with inflating earnings by $1.4 billion since 1999. Standard
& Poor's Rating Service cut its grade on $3.3 billion of HealthSouth
debt to CCC and said the company may be close to a 'near-term credit
default,'' reported the newswire.
Williams Falls After Saying It May Have to File for
Bankruptcy
Shares of Williams Cos. fell after the company said it may consider
bankruptcy unless it can sell more businesses over the next year,
Bloomberg News reported. The pipeline owner has sufficient resources to
meet cash obligations through the first quarter of 2004, Williams said
in a government filing late yesterday. Unless financial conditions
improve from selling assets and scaling back energy trading, Williams
may then become insolvent, the company said, reported the newswire.
Boeing Issues Layoff Notices To Another 960 Employees
Boeing Co. has issued layoff notices to 960 employees, the company
announced today, the Associated Press reported. Most of the layoffs
affect Boeing Commercial Airplanes workers, company spokesman Bill
Cogswell said. Others are in Boeing's shared-services division and other
units, he said. The layoffs are the latest step in an
employment-reduction program that Boeing announced last November to cut
costs following the Sept. 11 attacks. Several airlines have filed for
bankruptcy protection since the attacks, and many have delayed or
cancelled orders for new planes, reported the newswire.
Phar-Mor Liquidation Plan Approved By Bankruptcy Court
The bankruptcy court handling the chapter 11 proceeding for drug store
chain Phar-Mor Inc. has approved its joint plan of liquidation,
according to a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Dow Jones reported. According to the filing released on
Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Youngstown, Ohio, approved the
liquidation plan on March 13. The SEC filing said that on the effective
date of the plan, all of the Phar-Mor's assets and those of its
affiliates would be merged so they would be available to pay off the
company's debts, reported the newswire. Phar-Mor filed for chapter 11
protection on Sept. 24, 2001, listing assets of $345 million and debts
of $300 million. The bankruptcy filing, which marked the company's
second time in bankruptcy, followed five consecutive years of
losses.
Global Crossing Seeks Approval To Pay Fees For Exit Loan
Global Crossing Ltd. is seeking court authority to pay fees in
connection with obtaining an exit-financing facility, Dow Jones
reported. Global Crossing is asking the court for authority to reimburse
the proposed lenders for all reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses
associated with conducting due diligence. Global Crossing wants to
obtain an exit-financing facility to fund working-capital expenses upon
its emergence from chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Dow Jones. The
telecommunications company proposes to deliver a $500,000 deposit to
General Electric Capital Corp. and Merrill Lynch Capital, a division of
Merrill Lynch Business Financial Services Inc. The deposit will cover
expenses incurred by the lenders while they conduct due diligence and
formulate an exit-financing proposal for Global Crossing, according to
the debtor company's motion, reported the newswire.
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