A bankruptcy judge cleared Patriot Coal Corp. to sell its remaining assets, including its Federal mining complex in West Virginia, at a September auction, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips yesterday said that he would sign off on the Sept. 9 auction. An affiliate of the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund will lead off the bidding with its offer to take responsibility for $400 million in liabilities — workers' compensation, black lung and environmental — tied to the assets. The auction proposal had received objections from Patriot's unsecured creditors' committee and lender agent Barclays Bank PLC regarding the $5 million breakup fee Patriot sought to offer VCLF should it lose the bidding. However, those were resolved during the hearing with an agreement to require any winning bidder's offer to provide enough cash to cover the fee.
