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September 12,
2005
id='2'>BAPCPA
Could Hit Before Victims Can File
Many of the
individuals and
businesses taking the hardest financial hits from Hurricane Katrina
might not
be able to declare bankruptcy before provisions of BAPCPA take effect
Oct. 17,
USA Today reported yesterday. In the past two decades,
bankruptcy filings
in states hit by hurricanes and tropical storms increased 1.5 times
those in
states not affected by the same storms, according to research by the
University
of Nevada Las Vegas. The biggest increases didn’t come until two
to three
years after the hurricane. Consumer advocates and Democrats want
Congress to
delay the law—which makes it harder for individuals and
businesses to
wipe out their debts—or exempt hurricane victims.
href='http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/2005-09-11-katrina-bankruptcy-law_x…'>Read
more.
id='3'>Fibermark
Plan Approved
FiberMark, Inc.
announced
that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Vermont has
approved the
disclosure statement related to reorganization plan, PRNewswire
reported on
Friday. The approved statement is substantially identical to the
document filed
Aug. 25, 2005, with revisions that addressed certain objections.
FiberMark also
announced that the company’s key bondholders have agreed to
settle the
issues identified in the examiner’s report on terms reflecting
the spirit
of the examiner’s recommendations.
href='http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/…'>Read
more.
id='4'>Unsecured
Creditors Take Aim at Birch
Birch Telecom
Inc.’s
unsecured creditors fired off their first salvo Friday in the
carrier’s
chapter 11 proceeding, asking the court to deny a $5 million loan by
the company’s
lenders, the Kansas City Business Journal reported Friday. The
official
committee of unsecured creditors said the debtor-in-possession
financing was
loaded with excessive fees and interest rates and gives lead agent
Bank of America
too much control of Birch’s reorganization, according to a
filing with
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Birch spokesman Allan Samson
said that
the company probably won’t use the loan because of its cash
position,
but still needs it as an insurance policy.
href='http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2005/09/05/daily36…'>Read
the full story.
id='5'>Bankruptcy:
Better Sooner or Later?
For many Americans
with financial
problems, the question of whether to file bankruptcy has taken on new
urgency,
the New York Times said yesterday. On Oct. 17, laws are to take
effect
that will make personal bankruptcy a much tougher proposition. So the
issue
becomes not just to file or not to file, but are you better off filing
sooner
rather than later? It’s not that filing for bankruptcy now is
easy, but
the new laws will impose many hurdles on those hoping to clear away
debts. Among
them is a lengthy means test to determine ability to repay what is
owed. Depending
on the results, some people will be forced to repay debts that would
be wiped
clean under the current laws.
href='http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/10/business/10instincts.html'>Read
the full story.
Diocese
id='6'>Attorneys
Attempt to Overturn State Law
Attorneys for the
diocese
of San Diego arguing to overturn a 2003 state law that permitted
hundreds of
lawsuits squared off with attorneys for clients who claim to have been
molested
by priests, the San Diego Press-Enterprise reported Friday.
U.S. District
Court Judge William Hayes did not immediately rule on the
diocese’s challenge,
which is backed by the diocese of San Bernardino, Calif., to
invalidate the
law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations for
child-sexual-abuse
lawsuits for one year. Some lawyers have suggested that the
judge’s decision,
if appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, could ultimately nullify or
validate
the law.
href='http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_P_church09.831…'>Read
the full story.
id='7'>Memphis
Diocese Faces Another Lawsuit
A man who says a
suspended
Roman Catholic priest molested him after he sought counseling as boy
has filed
a lawsuit, WREG in Memphis reported Saturday. It names the Reverend
Paul St.
Charles, Bishop Terry Steib and the Catholic Diocese of Memphis as
defendants.
The plaintiff claims in his lawsuit that news reports about similar
suits revived
his memories of the abuse. He’s asking for unspecified damages.
Steib
suspended St. Charles from the ministry last year after a diocesan
review concluded
allegations against him in another case were likely true.
href='http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=3828214'>Read
more.
Airlines
id='8'>Tax
Break for Carriers
With jet fuel
prices soaring,
airlines have asked Congress and the White House for $600 million in
tax relief,
Congress Daily reported Friday. Commercial airlines are seeking
a one-year
reprieve from the 4.3-cents-per-gallon federal tax on jet fuel.
"We’ve
discussed it with the Department of Transportation and folks on the
Hill,”
a spokesman for the Air Transport Association told the Associated
Press. "I
think, so far, people have been receptive.” The group’s
president,
James May, will formally present the proposal at a Senate hearing
scheduled
for this Wednesday.
id='9'>Delta
Bankruptcy Likely to Occur This Week
Delta Air Lines
Inc. could
file for chapter 11 this week if it can line up financing, sources
told the
Washington Post on Saturday. The airline is trying to line up
between
$1.6 and $1.7 billion in debtor-in-possession financing, which is used
to operate
during bankruptcy proceedings, according to a report in Debtwire.
Delta officials
have received proposals from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup
Inc. and
General Electric Co.’s commercial finance arm. If Delta does not
obtain
the financing, the filing could be delayed.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR20050…'>Read
more.
id='10'>Northwest
Talks End Without Agreement
Talks between
Northwest Airlines
Corp. and its striking mechanics ended early Sunday with no agreement
and no
clear plans to continue negotiations, officials said, the Associated
Press reported
yesterday. Union negotiators "are returning to their homes, and
we do not
have an agreement," negotiations spokesman Jeff Mathews said.
"Additional
talks for today are not scheduled," Northwest spokesman Kurt
Ebenhoch said.
A spokesman for the Northwest mechanics said Saturday he doubts a deal
will
be reached anytime soon to end the three-week walkout.
href='http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&ts=1&display=rednews/2005…'>Read
the full story.
id='11'>Katrina
Could Cause Bankruptcy for Coast Community
Hurricane Katrina
could bankrupt
Diamondhead, Miss., and the future of the quiet community in south
Mississippi
could come down to a matter of federal policy, the Associated Press
reported
today. Residents have long described the 25 square miles of the
private community
of 8,500 residents as a piece of paradise. But now they are concerned
that removing
piles of debris left by Katrina’s massive storm surge could deal
another
devastating blow.
href='http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050912/NEWS01…'>Read
the full story.