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January 7, 2008
name='1'>Merrill Lynch
Appeal of ResMae Plan Stayed Again
U.S. District Judge Mary Pat
Thynge of the
District of Delaware approved a stipulation between the parties to stay
creditor Merrill
Lynch's appeal until a mediation session scheduled for March 17,
Bankruptcy Law360 reported on Friday. In
June 2007,
Bankruptcy Judge Kevin J. Carey confirmed ResMae's reorganization plan,
allowing the
subprime lender to emerge from chapter 11 and be acquired by hedge fund
Citadel Investment
Group LLC. Merrill Lynch Bank
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size='3'>USA, Merrill Lynch
Mortgage Lending Inc.
and Merrill Lynch Funding Corp. immediately appealed the decision. In
September, the
parties first agreed to stay mediation through Oct. 31, 2007, then
pushed back through Jan.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=43201'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
Automotive
name='2'>Claimants Appeal
Dana's Chapter 11 Plan
A group of people who
claim they were
injured by asbestos in Dana Corp. products has appealed the confirmation
of the auto-parts
supplier's bankruptcy reorganization plan, the Associated Press reported
on Friday. The
asbestos claimants' committee argued that Dana's bankruptcy plan didn't
set aside enough
money to settle all the asbestos personal-injury claims against the
company. The company
agreed to pay a total of $2 million to a group of about 7,500 who claim
they were injured
by asbestos in Dana products. Dana's plan allows other asbestos
claimants to retain their
right to sue Dana once the company emerges from bankruptcy. The
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size='3'>Toledo,
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size='3'>,
company's bankruptcy plan was confirmed by Judge
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Lifland
in December, which calls for unsecured creditors to be
repaid between 72 and
href='http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/ap/2008/01/04/claimants-appeal-da
nas-ch-11-plan'>Read more.
name='3'>Meridian Bounces Back
from Bankruptcy, Eyes Expansion
Meridian Automotive
Systems Inc. CEO Richard
Newsted says he is proud of his company's ability to stabilize
itself after emerging
from chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago, despite a challenging industry
environment,
Crain’s Detroit
Business
size='3'>reported today. Since
emerging from bankruptcy, the company has jumped into the plastic
chrome-plating business,
announced its intent to buy an
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Ohio plant from Automotive
Components Holdings
L.L.C. and is planning to open two plants in
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Newsted said
that
size='3'>Meridian was
profitable and protected
its liquidity in 2007, even though sales declined by $100
million.
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size='3'>Meridian is
expecting to end 2007
with sales of about $700 million, down from $800 million last
year.
href='http://crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080107/SUB/801070325/1033/-/-/g
rowth-ahead-meridian-bounces-back-from-bankruptcy-eyes-expansion&template=printart'>Rea
d more.
name='4'>Congress May Act to
Boost Economic Growth
Amid concerns about the
economy, House and
Senate Democrats are preparing legislation to increase growth this year,
putting pressure
on the White House as it mulls a plan of its own, the
face='Times New
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today. However,
policy makers face a difficult choice in the coming weeks as they decide
whether to craft
narrow remedies to improve the housing sector or come up with broader
measures to try to
lift consumer spending and business investment. Senior Bush
administration officials have
consulted in the past month with Martin Feldstein, president of the
National Bureau of
Economic Research and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in
the Reagan
administration. Feldstein argued for tax cuts to stimulate consumer
spending and business
investment. He also is calling for the White House and congressional
leaders to work out
the details of a stimulus package now and not wait for more bad economic
href='http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119967266887071397.html'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='5'>Global Home Chapter 11
Plan to Go Up for Vote
Bankruptcy Judge
Kevin Gross signed off on
Global Home’s
disclosure statement on Dec. 28, giving creditors the chance to vote on
the chapter 11 exit
plan, Bankruptcy
Law360
size='3'>reported yesterday. Unsecured creditors that incurred total
losses between $80
million and $100 million are on deck to collect a smaller recovery of $1
million, which is
1 to 1.5 percent of their claims. Under the amended plan filed in
November, unsecured
creditors will also gain a portion of the 18.5 percent of litigation
proceeds that Global
Home can recover. The plan outlines a payment of $4 million to resolve
priority and secured
claims, and $3.5 million to pay off administrative claims in
full.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/secure/ViewArticle.aspx?Id=43196'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='6'>Pacific Lumber Hearings
Scheduled, Plan Withdrawn
Following an order to
terminate Pacific
Lumber's exclusive period for filing a plan of reorganization, the U.S.
Bankruptcy Court in
Corpus
size='3'>Christi, Texas, has
scheduled a Feb. 28
hearing to consider approving any disclosure statements filed in the
case,
BankruptcyData.com reported today. The court also scheduled an April 1
hearing to consider
confirming any plans. The company had previously filed a notice to
withdrawal its chapter
11 plan on Dec. 20.
Air Studies Comair
Sale While Merger Options Are Reviewed
Delta Air Lines Inc., the
third-biggest
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said it's still studying a possible sale of its Comair regional unit
even as a board
committee considers merger alternatives, Bloomberg News reported today.
A tie-up with a
rival and a Comair sale are among the most significant decisions pending
for Chief
Executive Officer Richard Anderson, who took over on Sept. 1. Delta had
left Comair's fate
to be resolved after leaving bankruptcy last year.
size='3'>Delta
announced the board panel on Nov. 14, a day after hedge fund Pardus
Capital Management LP
wrote to Delta to urge a merger with United Airlines parent UAL Corp.
Pardus, which owns
shares in both carriers, said a merger would save money as jet- fuel
prices surge.
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aWIwtWQaX_Lg&refer=home'>
Read more.
name='8'>H&H Meat Files for
Bankruptcy
Texas-based meat
distribution company
H&H Foods has filed for bankruptcy, WKGBT.com reported on Friday.
Documents filed in a
federal bankruptcy court in
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the company is more
than $9 million in debt. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa's father, Salvador
Hinojosa, founded the
chorizo and meat distribution company in 1966. His sons, including
Congressman Hinojosa,
are owners of the establishment. A written statement from the
company indicated that the Mercedes-based business has a
reorganization plan that will
allow them to remain operating.
href='http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7580027&nav=0w0v'>Read
href='http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=7580027&nav=0w0v'>
name='9'>Hawaiian Developer Files
for Bankruptcy
The developer of a Hawaiian
Home Lands project
declared bankruptcy a few weeks after abandoning construction because of
rising costs, the
Associated Press reported yesterday. Owners Fred and Gwen Yamashiro of
Menehune Development
Co. and Fredco Inc. declared bankruptcy on Dec. 31, putting into
question the development
of 132 homes on three islands, all in various stages of completion. Fred
Yamashiro last
month said that he bid $125 per square foot for the contracts two or
three years ago, but
costs have risen to $165 per square foot because of increases in
construction materials and
labor costs.