Stockton, Calif., creditors asked a judge to end its bankruptcy case, saying at the start of a four-day trial that the city should cut excessive employee pay and pension benefits before seeking court protection, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Creditors such as Assured Guaranty Corp. and Franklin Resources Inc. must prove at the trial that began yesterday in Sacramento that the city is not truly insolvent and did not engage in good faith negotiations. Guy Neal, a lawyer for bond insurer Assured Guaranty, said that the city should be thrown out of chapter 9 bankruptcy and allowed back only after it trims "excess fat."
