Detroit yesterday wrapped up its historic bankruptcy case, which began with contentious opposition from creditors and ended with eleventh-hour deals enabling the city to shed $7 billion of its $18 billion of debt and obligations, Reuters reported yesterday. In closing arguments, attorneys for the city and others worked to convince Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes that he should permit Detroit to emerge from bankruptcy before Thanksgiving. They largely presented a view of harmony, emphasizing that the plan's string of bilateral settlements had brought the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy to conclusion at record speed, mostly through the groundbreaking "Grand Bargain." Under the deal, foundations, the state and the Detroit Institute of Arts will pitch in funds to ease pension cuts and avoid selling the city's art collection. Judge Rhodes, who began the confirmation hearing on Sept. 2, said he will rule Nov. 7 on whether the 1,165-page plan is fair to creditors and feasible for the city to implement.
