The judge in Stockton, Calif.’s bankruptcy ruled yesterday that the city has collateral worth $4 million with which it could pay holdout creditor Franklin Templeton, dismissing the city's contention its collateral was worthless, Reuters reported yesterday. At the same time, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein made no ruling on Tuesday on whether the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) should be made to accept less than the entire amount it is owed while bondholders take losses in the case. Judge Klein's ruling on the collateral in the case of Stockton, which filed for bankruptcy in June 2012, followed a trial that concluded last month and centered around Franklin's objection to the city proposing to repay it less than a penny on the dollar for a debt of about $36 million. The city's collateral against bonds held by Franklin includes two golf courses, a community center and a park, which the city had estimated had no value. Franklin had pegged their value at $6.12 million to $17.34 million.
