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A bankruptcy judge has approved a request by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) to file consolidated proofs of claims for three pension plans covering Hawker Beechcraft employees and retirees, the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle reported on Saturday. The cases are being consolidated for procedural purposes and are being jointly administered, the court filing said. The general deadline for filing claims against Hawker Beechcraft was last Friday. The deadline for “governmental units” to file proofs of claims is Oct. 30.

Patriot Coal Corp., which filed for bankruptcy protection in July, said that it will cut production of steel-making coal by about 85,000 tons per month due to weak demand, Reuters reported on Friday. Patriot, which became the first U.S. coal producer to seek court protection since coal prices began to plummet, sold 1.4 million tons of met coal during January-March, which accounted for 22 percent of total sales. The output cut at three mine complexes in southern West Virginia will affect 250 employee and contractor positions, Patriot said. Patriot, which operates in 14 mine complexes, will cut production at its Kanawha Eagle, Rocklick and Wells mine complexes over 60 days.

Bankrupt Hollywood special-effects company Digital Domain Media Group Inc. said that its lenders have agreed to provide about $11.8 million of debtor-in-possession financing, Reuters reported yesterday. Private equity firm Searchlight Capital, which has agreed to buy most of Digital Domain, reaffirmed its decision, the company said. Searchlight had earlier proposed kicking off the auction with an initial bid of $15 million. "Combined with our cash from ongoing operations, this funding supports Digital Media in paying normal operating expenses, such as employee wages and benefits, payments to vendors and suppliers, and other obligations," said Michael Katzenstein, chief restructuring officer.

Upstate New York ski resort Greek Peak received the bankruptcy court's approval to access bankruptcy financing being provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), a situation the agency called "unprecedented" in court documents, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Margaret Cangilos-Ruiz approved the $1.8 million worth of financing that will allow Greek Peak to continue operations during its chapter 11 case on Tuesday. The FDIC, usually tasked with unwinding failed banks, became involved in this case after the failure of Tennessee Commerce Bank.

Bankruptcy Judge Brendan L. Shannon yesterday approved a quick auction of Hollywood special-effects company Digital Domain Media Group Inc , but said that he may reconsider what he called an "unprecedented" schedule setting up next week's sale, Reuters reported yesterday. The company that won an Academy Award for its work on "Titanic" filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday with only $50,000 in the bank and unable to meet Friday's payroll, its attorney, Robert Feinstein, told the court yesterday. Digital Domain Chief Executive Ed Ulbrich told the court that Hollywood studios would begin pulling work from the company today unless it had an emergency loan and an agreement to auction the company to a better-financed owner on Sept. 21. After seven hours of nonstop arguments Judge Shannon called the case "deeply troubling" and said he was being asked to "call a bluff" on threats the company would be forced to close its doors without a quick sale. While approving a loan to keep the company afloat and the proposed auction date, he also set a Sept. 20 hearing to reconsider his decision.

California limousine maker Krystal Infinity LLC has asked for permission to sell its bus-manufacturing division for nearly $2.8 million to RV maker Forest River Inc .---a rescue purchase offer for the company that lost money on what was supposed to be a cost-cutting expansion to Mexico, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Krystal Infinity's attorneys told the Bankruptcy Judge Catherine E. Bauer that they are in a rush to sell the bus-manufacturing division before Mexican authorities seize its shuttered plant--a move that would make it hard to sell any portion of its manufacturing business.

Spectrum Healthcare, a chain of six nursing homes in Connecticut, has filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to shed some of its $27 million in debt and reduce its operating costs, the Hartford Courant reported yesterday. The company, with 725 employees and 716 beds, plans to keep all the homes in operation while it reorganizes. The filing is the latest sign of the financial pressures faced by nursing homes in Connecticut, where it is estimated that facilities could need as much as $90,155 a year to care for a resident, according to the trade group for 150 of the facilities. Seven other nursing homes have entered bankruptcy in the past five years, and two of those either closed or are closing.

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Patriot Coal Corp., its official creditors’ committee and senior creditors today will ask a bankruptcy judge to keep the coal producer’s reorganization in New York after a hearing ended yesterday without a decision, Bloomberg News reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Shelley C. Chapman yesterday heard lawyers from the mine workers’ union and U.S. Trustee argue that the case should be sent to West Virginia, where eight of Patriot’s 12 coal mines are located. Judge Chapman said that she might send the case to St. Louis, home to Patriot’s headquarters, if she decides Manhattan is the wrong venue. The union and the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog contend in court papers that Patriot had no connections with New York until two units were incorporated there about five weeks before the July 9 chapter 11 filing.

Allied Systems is seeking a 90-day extension to file its plan to exit chapter 11 protection as its financial adviser evaluates the troubled car hauler's restructuring options, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. In court papers filed on Friday, the company asked for an extension through Jan. 7, 2013, of its exclusive chapter 11 control. A court hearing on the proposed extension is set for Sept. 28. Allied's current plan-filing deadline is Oct. 8.

Residential Capital's exclusive right to file a reorganization plan was extended until Dec. 20 during a court hearing yesterday, Reuters reported yesterday. The court's decision fell short of the nine-month extension that ResCap, a home mortgage lender that filed for bankruptcy in May, had requested. ResCap, a unit of Ally Financial, said in court papers that it needed a nine-month extension because of the complexity of the case and to give it time to examine a report by an independent bankruptcy examiner. That report is expected to be published in January.