|
"The city needs to begin implementing this plan
immediately," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes said at a
hearing.
Rhodes waived a 14-day automatic stay on the plan, but did not
decide the official date for the city's emergence from
bankruptcy. Rhodes said he will conduct a hearing on Nov. 24 on
the matter.
Rhodes on Friday ruled Detroit's plan for cutting $7 billion of
its $18 billion of debt was fair to creditors and feasible for
the city to carry out. The second step in the process is issuing
a confirmation order that sets an effective date for the plan's
many measures and settlements.
The city is eager for the plan to take effect soon so it can
obtain an exit loan and set up retiree healthcare associations
created as part of a settlement with pensioners by the end of
the year.
At the same time, the city has raised questions about the fees
charged by its lawyers and outside consultants during the nearly
16 months Detroit was in bankruptcy and operating under a
state-appointed emergency manager. Rhodes said he will conduct a
review of the fees and on Wednesday he scheduled mediation
sessions for the first week of December.
(Reporting by Peter Suciu in Detroit; additional reporting by
Karen Pierog in Chicago and Lisa Lambert in Washington; editing
by W Simon and Matthew Lewis)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
