When U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley Chapman relinquished the reins on Patriot Coal's bankruptcy on Tuesday, transferring the case from her Manhattan courtroom to St. Louis, she sought a just path for all parties in the case, according to a Reuters commentary yesterday. As Chapman recounted in her ruling, Patriot is a St. Louis-based coal mining company with no New York operations. Early this summer, the company incorporated two minor subsidiaries in New York. About a month later, in July, Patriot filed for bankruptcy in Manhattan federal court, citing those two New York subsidiaries. But Patriot's primary union, the United Mine Workers of America, quickly sought a transfer, accusing the company of manufacturing a venue. The union wanted the case moved to West Virginia, where about half of its members live and many of the company's operations are based. The Justice Department, via the U.S. Trustee, also accused Patriot of forum shopping and asked Chapman to transfer the case out of Manhattan, although no alternative court was suggested.
