After a flurry of negotiations, a bankruptcy judge yesterday said that he would authorize Patriot Coal Corp.'s creditors to begin voting on the company's plan to pay them, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips said that he would approve an outline of Patriot's chapter 11 plan. At the heart of the plan is the sale of Patriot's mines to new owners. Before Tuesday's hearing, creditors had lined up to criticize what they said were gaping holes in the payment plan, including how much they could expect to be paid, the terms of new debt the company hopes to issue and the scope of liability releases.
