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GM and Chrysler: The End of Bankruptcy as We Know It? (Expert calls sale "outrageous," "illegal")
AM Law Daily ^ | 7/7/2009 | Zach Lowe

Posted on 07/08/2009 8:50:31 AM PDT by mojito

Almost every bankruptcy expert The Am Law Daily talks to agrees that the super-fast General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcies diverted from traditional bankruptcy law because of the government's huge role in each case and the danger liquidation might have posed to the broader economy.

What they don't agree on is whether the cases set a meaningful precedent for future judges. "What happened in GM and Chrysler is so outrageous and so illegal that until March of this year, nobody even conceptualized it," says Lynn LoPucki, a bankruptcy expert at UCLA Law School. "Wouldn't almost every company like to get out [of bankruptcy] in 30 or 60 days? Is there any reason they cannot all propose to do what GM and Chrysler have now done?"

....

Several other experts and Am Law 100 partners echoed LoPucki's concerns, though no one else directly labeled the sale illegal. But their basic views are the same: The courts stretched section 363 of the bankruptcy code--which allows a company to sell its best assets to a new buyer rather than go through a complete reorganization--beyond the code's intentions.

(Excerpt) Read more at amlawdaily.typepad.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: bankruptcy; chrysler; gm; obama
Some the nation's leading bankruptcy experts are almost unanimous: This stinks.
1 posted on 07/08/2009 8:50:32 AM PDT by mojito
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To: mojito
Whether the government is going to jump to the front of the line for itself and its friends ahead of bondholders is something you should only worry about when investing in Banana Republic Fruit Farms, Inc., not in US companies.
2 posted on 07/08/2009 8:55:14 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Chrysler and GM are what Marx meant by the means of production.)
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To: mojito
Spoke to one of my auto gnomes today...

The debt/bankruptcy was one of the topics.

Again, what is the avenue to profitability, let alone the Gov't and UAW have such equity stakes when do they sell to recoup, and who will buy it?

My gnome also noted the Canadians did more of a 50/50 for gov't UAW vs. what we did.

I do not see these failed models working.

Got to hear this guy in Dennis Miller that the functional will triumph over dysfunctional models. http://www.clarkwinter.com/

GM and Chrysler are Dysfunctional models on federal life support. As my gnome noted, normal purging of liabilities did not occur , i.e. pensions, and lawsuits. With that in mind even though Ford may be carrying more debt, Their VEBA liabilities may be more of a known vs. unknown since the new company equity is so intertwined with the UAW and the VEBA. And what profitability will GM and Chrysler actually have if the 1/4 reports are not forthcoming if they are not transparent via the Gov't let alone they do not look like they have any product coming for at least 2 or 3 years....

Obama owns this mess....

3 posted on 07/08/2009 9:12:44 AM PDT by taildragger (Palin / Mulally 2012)
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To: taildragger

I’ve been a Chevy man for years and years but I Will Never Buy A Governemnt Motors/UAW Automobile or Truck Again!


4 posted on 07/08/2009 9:25:35 AM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: taildragger
Again, what is the avenue to profitability, let alone the Gov't and UAW have such equity stakes when do they sell to recoup, and who will buy it?

If no one is willing to buy it, it's worth zero.

5 posted on 07/08/2009 10:17:09 AM PDT by OrioleFan (Republicans believe every day is the 4th of July, democrats believe every day is April 15)
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To: mojito
This is already the most criminal Administration, at any level, in American history.

And it's just starting.

6 posted on 07/08/2009 11:04:43 AM PDT by Costumed Vigilante (Congress: When a handful of evil morons just isn't enough)
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To: mojito

Just part of the end of America as we’ve known it.


7 posted on 07/08/2009 11:56:44 AM PDT by TheClintons-STILLAnti-American (E)
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To: mojito

that’s saying something, since I would guess most bankruptcy law professors lean debtor-friendly.


8 posted on 07/09/2009 10:13:34 AM PDT by stan_sipple
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To: mojito

My wife works for Northwest Airlines (now Delta). They went through bankruptcy more than a year ago. They came out of it a very different company. Much leaner and the union agreements were totally redone at a much lower level (my wife lost 40% of her pay).

I have heard very little of any actual restructuring of GM. I would expect to hear howls of anguish if the unions lost anything of substance. The company will continue to lose billions of dollars for many years to come.

Now that GM is owned by the government, can it go into bankruptcy in the future? If I were a supplier to GM I would demand payment upfront at the time of purchase. Will the government force suppliers to make parts for GM?


9 posted on 07/09/2009 10:28:50 AM PDT by toast
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