Detroit asked a federal appeals court yesterday to consolidate seven cases seeking to overturn a December ruling that found the city was eligible for chapter 9 protection, Reuters reported yesterday. In a motion, Detroit asked the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to force the parties, including the city's two pension funds, labor unions and retiree groups, to file in one lead case or to jointly file a principal brief accompanied by short individual briefs. If consolidation of the appeals is not granted, the city asked the appeals court to give it more time to respond to the appeals by pushing the deadline the court set earlier this month to June 17 from May 27.
