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August 19, 2005
Trial Date Set in Pension Case
A Butte, Mont. judge has set a March 20, 2006, trial date for a
lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen former Montana Power Co. workers whose
supplemental pensions were cut off without notice during NorthWestern
Corp.’s bankruptcy reorganization, the Montana
News-Independant Record reported yesterday. District Judge John
Whelan set the date Monday after denying NorthWestern’s motion to
dismiss a request by the pensioners for a speedy jury trial in Butte.
Billings attorney Cliff Edwards, who represents the 23 pensioners, filed
a lawsuit in May alleging NorthWestern omitted the retirees from its
bankruptcy process so they couldn’t defend their financial
interests. In separate action in Delaware, NorthWestern is appealing a
related decision by another judge presiding over part of the bankruptcy
reorganization. In May, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge John L. Peterson of
Butte ruled that NorthWestern left the supplemental pension plans out of
its bankruptcy filing, and said the bankruptcy court had no jurisdiction
over the case and said it should be heard in District Court in
Butte.
Banker Jailed in Parmalat Case Released
A former Bank of America Corp. banker arrested earlier this month as
part of the investigation into the collapse of Italian dairy company
Parmalat Finanzaria SpA was
href='http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0805/252954.html'>released from
pretrial custody after 16 days in jail, the Associated Press
reported yesterday. Judge Libero Mancuso ordered Luca Sala’s
release on the grounds that there was no threat that the banker could
tamper with evidence in the case, and noted that Sala had cooperated
with investigators.
href='http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0805/252954.html'>Read the full
story.
Stelco and Steelworkers Talking Again
The United Steelworkers Union has dropped its bid to submit a
refinancing offer for Stelco by Tricap Management Ltd., CBC News
reported yesterday. Instead, the Steelworkers have agreed to resume
talks with the Hamilton, Ont.–based steelmaker over the
company’s restructuring plans. On Thursday, the USW bid to have
the Tricap offer submitted to a vote of creditors was adjourned
indefinitely by Ontario Superior Court Justice James Farley.
Students’ Financial Ignorance a Major Parental Concern
Imagine you’re 30 years old and still paying for that pizza
delivered to the dorm freshman year: that’s the picture that
financial educators paint of student credit-card use and abuse, Scripps
Howard News Service reported yesterday. That image also underscores why
href='http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=WALLETWATCH-08-18-05'>parents’
top concern is getting their children to understand money
management, according to Visa USA’s new back-to-school survey.
74 percent of parents report that it’s critical to teach
high-school students to handle money, compared to 58 percent who worry
their kids will hang out with the wrong crowd and 56 percent who fret
about drugs and alcohol.
href='http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=WALLETWATCH-08-18-05'>Read
the full story.
Able Laboratories to Sell
Able Laboratories, the one-time giant of the generic drug market, has
announced that its
href='http://www.newsinferno.com/storypages/8-18-2005~003.html'>demise
is imminent as its stock value slipped to about 25 cents per share.
In deciding to sell the company rather than attempt to obtain
refinancing in order to return from bankruptcy, Able’s fall is now
almost complete, Newsinferno.com reported yesterday. The decision to
sell follows the rejection by federal regulators of Able’s plan to
rehabilitate itself and return its products to the market.
href='http://www.newsinferno.com/storypages/8-18-2005~003.html'>Read the
full story.
Owens Corning Bankruptcy Consolidation Reversed
In a ruling that could prove to be worth nearly $1.9 billion for a
group of banks,
href='http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1124355916256'>a federal
appeals court has ruled that the judge overseeing the massive bankruptcy
of Owens Corning improperly ordered a “substantive
consolidation” of the company and all of its nonbankrupt
subsidiaries, the Legal Intelligencer reported
yesterday. The ruling in In re Owens Corning is a victory
for a group of 43 banks led by Credit Suisse First Boston who argued
that their $2 billion in loans—issued before the company went
bankrupt—were guaranteed by Owens Corning’s more financially
healthy subsidiaries.
href='http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1124355916256'>Read the full
story.
KB Toys Enters Bankruptcy
KB Toys Inc., the largest closely held U.S. toy retailer, won
Bankruptcy Court approval for a reorganization plan that gives Prentice
Capital Management LP a 90 percent stake in the company, Bloomberg News
reported yesterday. Prentice, which is controlled by hedge-fund investor
Michael Zimmerman, will pay $20 million for 90 percent of Pittsfield,
Mass.–based KB Toys’s common stock and supply a $25 million
loan, according to court documents. Unsecured creditors will receive the
remaining 10 percent of the common stock. KB Toys’s largest
unsecured creditors include Hasbro Inc., owed $15.3 million, and Lego
Systems Inc., owed $9.9 million, according to court documents.
Shareholders receive nothing.
WCI Files Reorganization Plan
WCI Steel Inc. reported this week that it filed a reorganization plan
with the federal court overseeing its bankruptcy, Metal Producing
and Process reported today. The key to the plan is a substantial
cash investment by WCI’s parent company, The Renco Group Inc. In
addition to court approval, the plan must be affirmed by WCI’s
creditors and other stakeholders.The Warren, Ohio, integrated steelmaker
filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2003, claiming debts of
$300 million, high operating costs, and poor market conditions made it
unable to compete. According to Edward R. Caine, WCI’s vice
chairman CRO, the plan contains an undisclosed amount of cash from
Renco, assumption of current pension obligations, and a new labor
agreement with the United Steelworkers union. Caine said that these
details will provide the company with a financial strength and
flexibility.
Arizona Bankruptcy Filings Still Rising
The number of Arizonans filing for chapter 7 has remained ahead of
last year through July, though not at the pace expected in reaction to
federal legislation that will make it harder to erase consumer debt
later this year, the East Valley Tribune reported today.
Through July, overall bankruptcy filings totaled 19,183 statewide,
compared with 18,317 during the same period in 2004. In the Valley,
overall filings totaled 13,817 through July, compared with 13,457 during
the same period in 2004. Statewide and in the Valley, filings are up for
chapter 7, which is strictly liquidation, while filings for chapter 13,
which includes at least some repayment, are down.
href='http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=46361'>Read the
full story.
UAL Workers’ Suit Partially Settled
United Airlines’s employee stock ownership plan and its
trustees have
href='http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-airlines-ual.html'>agreed
to partially settle a class action lawsuit brought by airline
employees, the New York Times said on Wednesday. Under
the terms, the insurer for the employee stock ownership plan committee
will pay $5.25 million to participants. Court-appointed attorneys fees
and expenses will be subtracted from the settlement total, the parties
said in a statement. United Airlines is a subsidiary of bankrupt UAL
Corp.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-airlines-ual.html'>Read
the full story.