Farmers' Bankruptcy Measure Pulled From House
Calendar
House leaders pulled a bill that would extend chapter 12 bankruptcy
protection for farmers from the schedule yesterday at the request of
House Judiciary Committee members, according to CongressDaily.
Objections to the bill appeared to center on its failure to
include a number of temporary judgeships that were included in another
chapter 12 extension measure, approved by the House in October.
The measure would extend chapter 12 bankruptcy through April 1.
Senate Judiciary Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee
Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) blocked the earlier House-passed
chapter 12 measure and has made it clear that he is opposed to creating
the judgeships. Although she did not say Grassley was blocking the
legislation, his spokeswoman yesterday said Grassley objected to the
judgeships and therefore to the underlying House bill. 'He does not
believe those judgeships are needed [and] he does not support that
legislation,' she said.
Comprehensive bankruptcy reform legislation pending before the Senate
contains a permanent chapter 12 extension. The Senate, however,
failed earlier this month to invoke cloture on the underlying
measure. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) is expected
to bring up the bankruptcy bill for another cloture vote, perhaps this
week, provided that the Senate remains in session. Grassley's
spokeswoman said Grassley would 'consider' supporting stand-alone
legislation that would make chapter 12 permanent if the large bankruptcy
reform bill fails.
Red Gorilla Goes Bankrupt
Online time-and-billing vendor Red Gorilla, a service that was
geared toward lawyers and other time-based professionals, shut its doors
and sent employees home on Oct. 6 and closed permanently the following
Monday, according to a newswire report. Although the company has
yet to file for bankruptcy, “the system is offline, all the
employees were let go and there's no money in the bank,” said John
Witchel, Red Gorilla's chief executive officer.
Red Gorilla expected to make money through advertising that was placed
on its site and through add-on services. Although the basic
time-tracking and do-it-yourself invoicing was free, it cost $9.95 a
month to access the service through a cell phone or Palm Pilot, and
$4.95 a month, plus postage, to have Red Gorilla mail or fax invoices to
clients. Red Gorilla had been close to raising at least $10
million in a third round of funding, but the investor backed out at the
last minute. An attempt to secure a bridge loan also failed.
“The problem wasn't the business; the problem is the capital
markets,” Witchel said.
Gibbs Construction Completes Plan of
Reorganization and Emerges from Bankruptcy
Gibbs Construction Inc. announced yesterday that the Bankruptcy Court
had approved its motion to extend the effective date of its
reorganization plan to last Friday, according to a newswire
report. Gibbs filed chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on
April 20 after suffering heavy losses on hotel construction
projects. The Dallas-based company continues to operate in its
normal course of business pending the effective date of its
reorganization plan. The company's plan provides for the purchase of
assets from Thacker Asset Management LLC in exchange for stock and the
establishment of a trust for the benefit of creditors which would be
comprised of stock in the reorganized company and other assets.
Gibbs will operate in the future as Thacker-Gibbs, reflecting the
combination of staff and business relationships of the respective
organizations.
Former Florida Trucking Company Employees Get Paychecks 10 Years
After Bankruptcy Filing
Some 5,600 checks totaling $31 million were mailed this week to
creditors and former employees of the Jacksonville, Florida-based P*I*E
Nationwide Inc., one of the biggest trucking companies in the country
before it went bankrupt in 1990, according to a newswire report.
The checks include about $3.2 million in missing wages for 5,000
former employees. Workers who stayed on the job for
the first months after the bankruptcy was filed will also receive
checks. In addition, $9.4 million will be paid into various
employee pension and benefit funds. Not included in the payout
were general unsecured creditors, including firms that leased equipment
or sold fuel to the company.
Judge Rules on Breast-Implant Deal
A federal judge yesterday ruled that women opposed to a $3.2-billion
settlement over silicone breast implants may not sue Dow Corning
Corp.’s corporate parents, reversing a bankruptcy judge's opinion,
according to the Associated Press. The 168-page ruling by U.S.
District Judge Denise Page Hood set aside federal Bankruptcy
Judge Arthur Spector's opinion of last December, in which Spector
said that he lacked the power to release the parent companies from
future liability. Barring additional appeals, Hood's ruling sets
the stage for the case's claimants to begin receiving
compensation. “This really will let the process move forward
and allow claimants to receive payment for their claims,” Dow
Corning spokesman T. Michael Jackson said. “We hope that with this
positive ruling that those who filed objections will not file further
appeals.”
But a lawyer who was among those fighting the settlement's no-lawsuit
release said more appeals are planned. Geoffrey White represents a group
of women in Nevada, where that state's supreme court has upheld damages
against Dow Chemical Co. — one of Dow Corning's corporate parents
— over silicone implants, opening the door for similar
lawsuits. White said he would take the matter to the 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati and predicted that would not be
the end.
U.S. Court Refuses to Halt Wireless Auction
A U.S. federal appeals court yesterday refused to delay the December
auction of wireless licenses — denying a request by NextWave
Telecom Inc. which sought the delay in a bid to keep licenses it won in
1996 but later lost when regulators repossessed them for non-payment,
according to a Reuters report. NextWave had asked the U.S. Appeals
Court for the District of Columbia to stay the auction until it ruled on
whether the cancellation of the licenses was lawful. The
Hawthorne, N.Y.-based company, which is undergoing bankruptcy
reorganization, also is pursuing other legal challenges. The
Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an appeal by NextWave, but
has already rejected one appeal request so far.
“Petitioners/appellants have not satisfied the stringent standards
required for a stay pending review,” the appeals court said in a
two-page order.
The refusal to grant a delay clears another hurdle for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), which plans on Dec. 12 to begin
auctioning 422 licenses for airwaves designed for wireless and data
services. Yesterday the court agreed to quickly hear the appeal on
whether the FCC's move to cancel the licenses was lawful. The
first brief is due on Dec. 11 — one day before the auction
begins. A friend-of-the-court, or amicus brief, is due Dec. 18,
the FCC's reply brief is due Jan. 17, and the final brief in the case is
due Jan. 3.
Grand Union Buyer Could Face Other Bidders
A wholesale grocery supplier that plans to buy
bankrupt-supermarket-chain Grand Union Co. signed a purchase agreement
worth $301.8 million yesterday, but could find itself in a bidding war
come Thursday, according to the Associated Press. C&S
Wholesale Grocers of Brattleboro, Vt., agreed to buy nearly all of the
Wayne, N.J.-based Grand Union stores, as well as its distribution center
in Montgomery, N.Y. But because Grand Union filed for chapter 11
early last month, a bankruptcy court auction scheduled for Thursday
morning must go on. Grand Union spokeswoman Susanne Marsh said,
“We do believe that there will be other interested parties
there.”
Early last month, the 197-store chain, which once operated 900
supermarkets from Florida to Texas and north to Canada, sought
bankruptcy protection for the third time in five years. This time
the reason was not to restructure debt payments, but to court a
buyer. C&S, Grand Union's biggest supplier, has agreed to buy
185 of the stores, but retained the right to sell some of them to third
parties. The deal requires approval both by the bankruptcy court
in Newark and by federal antitrust regulators. Marsh said C&S
will make its initial bid of $301.8 million at the auction Thursday
morning, but other parties could generate higher bids. A federal
bankruptcy judge yesterday approved letting Lake Success, N.Y.-based
real estate consultant Excess Space Disposition help Grand Union
determine the value of some of its properties, sell leases on closed
stores, and valuate assets not being sold in the bankruptcy
auction.
CenterSpan Announces Intention to Acquire
Scour’s Assets
CenterSpan Communications yesterday announced that it plans to submit a
bid to acquire the assets of Scour Inc., according to a newswire
report. CenterSpan will appear today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
for the Central District of California in Los Angeles to notify the
court in accordance with the court's “over-bid”
procedures. Scour Inc. filed chapter 11 on Oct. 12. If the
Hillsboro, Ore.-based company is the winning bidder, CenterSpan plans to
immediately shut down Scour and re-launch it in the first quarter of
2001 as a secure and legal digital distribution channel based on its new
technology platform.
CenterSpan is a developer and marketer of Internet software
applications for communication and collaborative information
sharing. On Oct.24, CenterSpan announced plans to launch a next
generation peer-to-peer network incorporating digital rights management,
which provides a secure and legal digital distribution channel enabling
members to publish, search and purchase all forms of digital
content. CenterSpan's technology platform will provide content
owners with the ability to track and account for their content within
the channel.
Pro Air, FAA Agree on Restart
Plan
The grounded and financially struggling discount airline Pro Air and the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have agreed on a process that
could restore the company's right to fly in less than three months,
according to the Associated Press. To return to the air, Pro Air
would have to prove it has overcome both financial and safety problems,
the FAA said Monday.
On Sept. 18, the FAA revoked Pro Air's operating certificate, saying
the three year-old carrier had serious maintenance and record-keeping
problems. The Detroit-based company filed for chapter 11 two days
after the FAA action, preventing the repossession of its planes while it
tried to regain its operating certificate. The airline had been
appealing the FAA's action. Pro Air and the FAA agreed to start today a
new 75-day process that could see the airline regain its operating
certificate, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said. Pro Air
agreed to give up the appeal and surrender its certificate, Cory said.
The FAA, for its part, agreed to consider a new Pro Air operating
application within 75 days of the agreement, or by Jan. 21.
BankruptcyData.com Adds Districts to
Business Bankruptcy Coverage
BankruptcyData.com, an Internet site providing in-depth
information on business bankruptcies, announced the addition of 12 U.S.
Bankruptcy Court Districts to the web site's free daily list of business
bankruptcy filings, according to a newswire report. The current filing
list now contains more than 300 companies that have filed bankruptcy in
a trailing 30-day format. Among the recently added districts are
New Jersey, Southern Illinois and Maryland. The web site now reports on
business filings in more than 60 districts on a daily basis. Visitors
have free access to the date a company has filed, in addition to where,
when, and the attorney contact information.
Court Confirms Semi-Tech Committee's Liquidating Plan
The court overseeing Semi-Tech Corp.'s (SEM.A) chapter 11 bankruptcy
proceedings has cleared the way for the company to wind up the
liquidation of its remaining assets. Following a hearing Thursday,
Judge Burton R. Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan
confirmed the first amended plan of liquidation submitted by Semi-Tech's
official unsecured creditors' committee. No objections to confirmation
were raised. The only creditor classes that didn't vote to accept the
plan were equity interest holders in Classes 4 and 5, who will not
receive any distribution under the plan.
Courtesy of
href='http://www.fedfil.com/bankruptcy/developments.htm'>The Daily
Bankruptcy Review Copyright © November 14,
2000.
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