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January 4, 2005
Asbestos Claims Solution Sought
As Congress reconvenes today, the new chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee will try to resolve the asbestos litigation dispute,
the Washington Post reported. Sen. Arlen Specter
(R–Pa.) has circulated among interest groups a draft of a bill he
hopes will become the basis of a solution for this contentious issue.
The proposal features a trust fund, into which companies associated with
asbestos would contribute billions of dollars to pay the claims of the
injured, though no price has yet been determined. And it would allow
victims to return to the courts if their claims were not paid or were
not paid promptly. Read the full article at
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45654-2005Jan3.html'>www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45654-2005Jan3.html.
Former WorldCom Chairman Finds Shelter in Homestead Exemption
An article in the Miami Daily Business Review focuses on
former WorldCom Chairman John A. Porter’s, who filed for chapter
11 bankruptcy last May. The bankruptcy was converted into a chapter 7 in
September. Read the full article at
href='http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1104759335509'>www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1104759335509.
US Airways Mechanics Do Not Expect Pact on Concessions
Mechanics at US Airways do not expect to reach a voluntary agreement
with the company on new concessions, increasing the possibility that a
bankruptcy judge will throw out the union’s contract later this
week, a union executive said yesterday, Reuters reported. Last month, a
U.S. bankruptcy judge in Alexandria, Va., urged the machinists’
union and the airline to reach an agreement on givebacks by Thursday or
he would rule on the company’s motion to void the union’s
contract.
Bankruptcy Ends for 2 Units of Halliburton
The Halliburton Company, the world’s largest oil field services
company, said yesterday that its DII Industries and Kellogg Brown &
Root units had emerged from bankruptcy protection, formalizing a $4.7
billion settlement of asbestos claims involving more than 400,000
people, Bloomberg News reported. The units filed for bankruptcy
protection on Dec. 16, 2003, in Pittsburgh to win court approval of the
settlement with people who claimed they were exposed to asbestos or
silica. The agreement, approved last year by Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald
of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, cannot be appealed and the
Halliburton units can now operate without court protection, the company
said in a statement.
Happy Kids Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in New York
The New York-based children’s clothing designer filed a
voluntary petition for chapter 11 yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in
Manhattan, according to court papers, the online Wall Street
Journal reported. The company listed assets and liabilities of
$50 million to $100 million each. The company’s two largest
secured creditors are CIT Group/Commercial Services Inc., which holds a
claim of $33 million, and noteholder Deutsche Bank, which holds a claim
of $24 million.
Briggs & Stratton Plans to Buy Most of Bankrupt Firm Murray
Lawnmower engine maker Briggs & Stratton Corp. aims to buy most
of a bankrupt lawnmower maker that owes it money, the Wall Street
Journal reported. That company, Murray Inc., is controlled by a
Chinese investment company that’s in trouble itself. Read the full
article at www.wsj.com (subscription
required).
Wal-Mart Dec. Sales Estimate Boosts Retail Sector
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said December sales would be at the top end of
its prior estimate on better-than-expected post-Christmas spending,
driving its shares up 2 percent, Reuters reported. The results boosted
the retail sector on hopes that other retailers would also report
better-than-expected December sales later this week after a sluggish
start to the key holiday shopping season.