Legal Commentary

Chrysler Bondholders Seek "Judicial Activism" From SCOTUS

By Big Tent Democrat

AP:

Three Indiana state pension and construction funds want the Supreme Court to block Chrysler's sale to Fiat so they can pursue an appeal in hopes of getting a better deal. The funds filed emergency papers at the high court early Sunday.

. . . U.S. Judge Arthur Gonzalez, the bankruptcy judge overseeing Chrysler's case, approved the sale last Sunday, finding that the deal with Fiat was Chrysler's only alternative to liquidation. . . . [Second Circuit] Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs . . . asked Thomas Lauria, the lawyer representing the Indiana funds, why he believed his clients would be better off if the deal with Fiat went away and Chrysler was forced to liquidate. "You can't wait for a better deal to come in from Studebaker," Jacobs said. Lauria responded that the sale could be restructured to provide a better return for the secured debtholders.

My own view is that these Chrysler bondholders have no case under the Bankruptcy Code. But heck, the Roberts Court could rewrite it. After all, they seem poised to rewrite Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Worth a shot with the judicially activist Roberts Court.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on June 07, 2009 (boomark / email).