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Washington Mutual agrees to settlement
Headline News |
2011/12/13 10:29
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Bank holding company Washington Mutual Inc. has agreed to a settlement with some creditors involved in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case and has filed a new reorganization plan.
Washington Mutual said in a statement late Monday that the settlement will allow it to distribute more than $7 billion to its creditors. The settlement must still be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The comprehensive settlement announced today represents a fair and reasonable recovery for the thousands of equity holders of the company who have been following this case closely for three years, Michael Willingham, chairman of the committee of equity security holders appointed in the company's Chapter 11 proceedings.
Washington Mutual's bankruptcy case is three years old and its reorganization plans have twice been rejected by Bankruptcy Court Judge Mary Walrath. The company is hoping to exit bankruptcy protection by the end of February. It has a hearing scheduled for Jan. 11, 2012 in which the bankruptcy court will consider approval of the reorganization plan's disclosure statement. The company also plans to ask the bankruptcy court for a mid-February hearing to confirm its reorganization plan. |
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High court halts new Texas electoral maps
Court Watch |
2011/12/12 10:37
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Texas' March primary will likely be delayed after the Supreme Court on Friday blocked the use of state legislative and congressional district maps that were drawn by federal judges.
The court issued a brief order late Friday that applies to electoral maps drawn by federal judges in San Antonio for the Texas Legislature and Congress that would have ensured minorities made up the majority in three additional Texas congressional districts. The justices said they will hear arguments on Jan. 9.
The judges issued the new maps for the 2012 election in Texas after a lawsuit was filed in San Antonio over redistricting maps drawn by the GOP-led Legislature. The maps were to remain in place until the lawsuit was resolved.
The Supreme Court's order brings to a halt filing for legislative and congressional primary elections that began Nov. 28. The primaries had been scheduled to take place in March, but the Supreme Court's decision means those elections almost certainly will be delayed, possibly until May. |
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City Council in Pa. capital again seeks bankruptcy
Law Firm News |
2011/12/12 10:37
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The City Council has appealed a judge's decision to throw out the bankruptcy petition of Pennsylvania's debt-choked capital city, its attorney said.
The appeal was filed Saturday in federal court, City Council attorney Mark Schwartz said in an email.
Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled that Harrisburg may not seek bankruptcy protection, calling such a filing illegal. That ruling cleared the way for the state to take over the city.
The judge said the city had been legally barred by a separate state law, signed June 30 by Gov. Tom Corbett, from seeking bankruptcy protection and, in any case, had no authority to go over the mayor's head to file it. |
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Appeals court allows Albany hospital merger
Topics |
2011/12/11 10:37
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A federal appeals court has ruled that Albany's Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital can buy Palmyra Medical Center.
The Albany Herald reports that the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that said the sale was not subject to federal antitrust oversight.
The Federal Trade Commission had appealed the lower court ruling. The commission argued that Phoebe Putney and Hospital Corporation of America, Palmyra's parent company, were using the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County to conceal their actions from federal scrutiny.
Phoebe Putney CEO Joel Wernick said Friday he's eager to move forward with the consolidation of the two hospitals.
The FTC said in a statement Friday that it is concerned the deal will raise health care costs in Albany and said it is considering its options. |
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Appeals court blocks cement plant pollution rule
Law Firm News |
2011/12/09 13:13
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A federal appeals court is blocking an Environmental Protection Agency rule designed to reduce pollution at cement plants.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington agreed with cement makers that the EPA did not properly draft the rule governing storage of material used in the manufacturing process. The judges ordered the agency to rewrite the 2010 regulation and urged them to do so quickly.
Other rules affecting pollutants in the cement making process were left in place by the judges.
Congress also had been considering a challenge to the rule. More than 100 lawmakers with plants in their districts pushed the House to pass a bill Oct. 6 that would have forced the EPA to rewrite the measure and give manufacturers years to comply. |
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Political aide to former Md. governor found guilty
Law Center |
2011/12/08 09:17
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A political aide to former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to use election-day robocalls in an effort to suppress black voter turnout during the 2010 gubernatorial election.
Paul Schurick was found guilty of all four counts he faced, including conspiracy to influence or attempt to influence a voter's decision whether to go to the polls through the use of fraud and conspiracy to publish campaign material without an authority line. A stoic Schurick comforted his wife in the courtroom after the Baltimore jury's verdict was read, but declined to comment.
His attorney, A. Dwight Pettit, said they will appeal.
Prosecutors argued the calls that went out on the evening of Election Day to about 110,000 voters in Baltimore city and Prince George's County — two jurisdictions with high percentages of black voters — were an effort by the Republican campaign to reduce the number of black Democrats voting in heavily Democratic Maryland. |
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