A U.S. federal appeals court dismissed an emergency appeal by opponents of Peabody Energy Corp.’s reorganization plan yesterday saying that any complaints should be lodged after the plan is confirmed by the bankruptcy court, Reuters reported. An ad hoc committee of dissenting creditors had said that a key piece of Peabody's proposal to exit chapter 11 protection violates U.S. bankruptcy law by prematurely requiring creditors to promise to support it. A bankruptcy panel of the U.S. Circuit of Appeals for the Eighth Court did not address the merits of the motion. Peabody hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in April, a year after its Chapter 11 filing with over $8 billion of debt. Its bankruptcy confirmation trial is scheduled for March 16.
