Detroit Examiner Paid $600 An Hour To Inspect Bankruptcy Bills

California pension fund to appeal San Bernardino bankruptcy eligibility

Keach and the other bankruptcy lawyers contacted for this story said they cant remember such a system being used in cases under Chapter 9, which covers municipalities and doesnt require cities to submit their fees to the judge for approval. Early in its bankruptcy, Detroit agreed to have its bills reviewed by an examiner, saying it would improve the publics understanding of the case. Fishman is a good negotiator and doesnt pound the table to get what he wants, said Keach. As a mediator, Fishman helped resolve several lawsuits filed as part of the bankruptcy of casino company Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings, and battles between Lauth Investment Properties LLC and its principal investor, according to his resume. Knows How He knows how to get people to yes, Keach said. Orange County, California, which listed billions of dollars in debt when it filed for bankruptcy in 1994, disclosed its fees to the court, said Lee Bogdanoff, an attorney who worked on that case. Bogdanoff, of Los Angeles-based Klee Tuchin Bogdanoff & Stern LLP, now represents Jefferson County, Alabama, in its bankruptcy, the second-biggest Chapter 9 case, after Detroit. Union officials battling Detroit over proposed cuts have attacked the fees charged by the citys law firm, Jones Day, and its restructuring advisers, Conway MacKenzie Inc. and Miller Buckfire & Co.
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Detroit's bankruptcy should be blocked because of possible pension cuts, labor says

in July 2011. (Photo: Joe Burbank, AP) SHARE 1 CONNECT 19 TWEET COMMENTEMAILMORE ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Casey Anthony has reached a settlement in her bankruptcy case with a Texas search group that helped look for her missing 2-year-old daughter. Texas Equusearch Mounted Search and Recovery will be allowed to have an unsecured claim of $75,000 in Anthony's bankruptcy case under the terms of the settlement filed late last week in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa. The search group won't be entitled to any other claims and won't be allowed any further dealings in the case. The group had objected to the bankruptcy, claiming it spent more than $100,000 searching for the girl in 2008.
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Marketing of Detroit Heats up Despite Bankruptcy

Well that violates the bankruptcy code, Rhodes said. It gives a priority to one unsecured creditor, or one group of unsecured creditors, over others. The labor groups represented at Mondays hearing rejected that argument, saying pensions must be protected at all costs. The city has about 23,500 pensioners. Thomas Morris, an attorney for Detroits retiree associations, said pensions must be paid even if Detroit were wiped off the face of the earth. The constitution protects pensions as a contractual obligation that cannot be diminished or impaired. But U.S. bankruptcy code allows contracts to be severed in bankruptcy. Bruce Bennett, an attorney for Jones Day, which represents the city in bankruptcy court, said most state constitutions prevent contracts from being cut but that protection dissolves in bankruptcy. He said theres a clear divide between Detroit bondholders and labor groups, and neither side will accept special protections for the other side. Without revealing his position, Rhodes foretold the same conflict. Bondholders can argue under the bankruptcy code that pension holders need to be impaired even if the city wants to achieve fair treatment, he said.
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Examiner to be paid $600 hourly to review Detroit's bankruptcy bills

to enter bankruptcy. "People were inquiring: How can you talk about a great comeback city when you just filed for bankruptcy?" said Bohde, referring to the campaign's kickoff during a trade show in Atlanta this summer. He had to convince savvy business leaders that Detroit's July 18 bankruptcy "filing has nothing to do with the city and the development going on right now." "To the general public, it is confusing," he said. There are no smoke and mirrors when it comes to Detroit, the one-time manufacturing marvel of the world that over the past half-century has lost more than 1 million people, tens of thousands of jobs and now straddles the final ladder rung above insolvency. Far too many neighborhoods are crumbling and violent crime continues to rank among the worst in the nation. There is some glitter to the rusty-knuckled town, but it's primarily downtown where three casinos, two professional sports stadiums and a strong restaurant district welcome residents and visitors. The downtown Marriott hotel is spending $30 million on renovations. Cobo convention center, home of the prestigious North American International Auto Show, is completing a $300 million renovation. A $600,000 campaign funded by businesses and touting a brighter future for Detroit has appeared in full-page ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other publications.
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Casey Anthony settles bankruptcy case

public employee pension fund said Thursday that it would appeal an August court ruling granting Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection to the city of San Bernardino, California. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) has fiercely opposed San Bernardino's bankruptcy since the Southern California city asked for protection from its creditors in 2012. The city, reeling from a housing bust, a decades-long decline in manufacturing, and soaring employee salary and pension costs, said it had run out of cash to meet its daily obligations. The city suspended its $1.2 million bimonthly payments to Calpers at that time - an unprecedented move - though it resumed payments in July 2013. In August, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled San Bernardino eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection. Calpers said in a press release Thursday that it would appeal "on the grounds that the city did not consider alternatives to filing for Chapter 9 protection, did not file its bankruptcy petition in good faith, and has not provided reliable financial information." San Bernardino, beset by infighting among local officials, has struggled to keep its finances in order as officials including the city manager and the city finance director resigned in the wake of the bankruptcy filing. The case is one of several municipal bankruptcies that are expected to set important precedents about whether municipal bondholders or pensioners get priority when a city goes broke. The California city of Stockton, which is also in bankruptcy, has continued to make all payments to Calpers, and the pension fund has not opposed that city's eligibility for bankruptcy.
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Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, 64, who oversaw the bankruptcy of auto-parts maker Collins & Aikman Corp. and is presiding over the Detroit case, has instructed lawyers and other advisers to submit their first set of bills today, and to include details explaining what they did and how long it took, broken down into six-minute increments where necessary. The city has agreed to pay 85 percent of the monthly bills and withhold the rest while Fishman prepares a preliminary report about each firm. If he finds that a firm overcharged, or didn't supply enough details about a fee, the firm can appeal to the judge. The remaining 15 percent of the fees are paid after any disputes are resolved. This system is common in cases brought under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code's Chapter 11, which companies use to reorganize by restructuring debt and renegotiating contracts.
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