CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Mt. Gox suitors seek support to save bitcoin exchange

Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:11pm EDT

(Corrects to show that Mark Karpeles is CEO, not founder, of Mt. Gox in paragraph 8)

April 17 (Reuters) - A group of investors seeking to buy Mt. Gox has launched a website to garner support from creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange to prevent a liquidation of its assets.

"We need your help to stop a liquidation, which would be good neither for Mt. Gox creditors nor bitcoin's reputation with the general public and regulators," the investors wrote on the website. (r.reuters.com/jeh68v)

Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, is likely to be liquidated after a Tokyo court dismissed the company's bid to resuscitate its business, the court appointed administrator said on Wednesday.

"The Tokyo district court recognized that it would be difficult for the company to carry out the civil rehabilitation proceedings and dismissed the application for the commencement of the civil rehabilitation proceedings," he said.

The investor group, which offered to take over the assets of Mt. Gox and revive it, has received backing from many creditors and hopes to convince the court to reconsider its rehabilitation proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (r.reuters.com/keh68v)

Mt. Gox has about 127,000 creditors.

The exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking.

Mark Karpeles, the chief executive of Mt. Gox, said he would not come to the United States to answer questions about the bankruptcy case, Mt. Gox lawyers told a U.S. federal judge on Monday. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Sampad Patnaik in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Steve Orlofsky)

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AMR loses bid to terminate retiree benefits

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK, April 18 Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:59pm EDT

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge largely declined on Friday to rule that former American Airlines parent company AMR Corp had a unilateral right to terminate benefits for nearly 47,000 retirees.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in New York rejected a motion AMR made in 2012 for a ruling holding that the health and welfare benefits it provided retirees had not vested and could be unilaterally modified.

Lane did rule for AMR with regard to some employees, but his ruling was a setback in AMR's bid to shift the program's costs from the company to the retirees, which included both union and non-union employees.

"American will review his ruling and consider next steps related to the retiree health and life insurance benefits," said Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines. "We always remain open to productive discussions to finally resolve this matter."

AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011, seeking to cut more than $1 billion a year in labor costs.

The company emerged from bankruptcy in November 2013 through a merger with US Airways Group Inc. The combined company is now called American Airlines Group Inc.

As part of its reorganization, the company sought to renegotiate its collective bargaining agreements with various unions for American Airlines employees.

After having reached deals with unions for its current employees, AMR turned its focus toward benefits provided to its approximately 46,930 retirees.

Though Lane ruled in favor of AMR with regard to some retirees who were non-union or management, he largely declined to rule for the company.

"The relevant documents contain language reasonably susceptible to interpretation as a promise to vest benefits and lack language categorically reserving the plaintiffs' right to terminate their contributions to the retiree benefits," Lane said.

As a result of the ruling, AMR will now need to proceed to trial should it continue to seek a ruling holding that it has the right to terminate the retirees' benefits.

Catherine Steege, a lawyer with the law firm Jenner & Block representing the official committee for retirees, said she hoped in light of the ruling the company would "reconsider its efforts to try to take away benefits from the retirees."

The case is In re: AMR Corporation, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Seeking expert help, Detroit bankruptcy judge interviews applicants

By Cherie Curry

DETROIT, April 18 Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:22pm EDT

DETROIT, April 18 (Reuters) - Applicants ranging from New York municipal finance expert Richard Ravitch to a local law professor bid to help Judge Steven Rhodes evaluate Detroit's financial restructuring plan, but Rhodes ended the recruitment session on Friday without naming his choice.

Sitting in court without his customary judicial robe, Rhodes interviewed the four men and one woman, repeatedly reminding them that the expert's role would be limited to advising on the feasibility of the city's plans to exit bankruptcy.

"The expert witness will be my expert and is limited to an examination of the city's plan and the reasonableness of assumptions that go into it," Rhodes said.

Detroit, with $18 billion of debt and other obligations, filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in July 2013 and in recent days has reached settlements with several major creditor groups.

Ravitch, who during the 1970s advised on New York City's successful effort to avoid bankruptcy, bemoaned Detroit's woeful financial circumstance. "Detroit's problem is more severe because the problem wasn't addressed earlier on when it would have been far less expensive to solve it," he said.

Rhodes warned Ravitch, a former New York lieutenant governor, that the Detroit job would be far smaller than the task he carried out during New York city's close brush with insolvency.

"History demonstrates the outstanding work you did for New York. This assignment is different in character - it is not to help the city to solve its problems," Rhodes said.

Ravitch offered to work without pay, though he proposed just under a $1 million budget for work by his non-profit firm, the Ravitch Group. The most costly bid, from William Brandt Jr. of Development Specialists, a Chicago firm, came in at $1.6 million.

Other applicants for the job included Peter Hammer, a law professor at Wayne State University; Martha Kopacz, of Phoenix Management Services LLC in Boston; and Dean Kaplan, managing director of PFM Group of Philadelphia, which has advised on financial restructuring in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and also worked with the Detroit Public Schools.

Rhodes' questions varied little from person to person and touched on topics ranging from their qualifications, to their understanding of the problems facing Detroit to their views on the city's plan to deal with its debt.

Hammer, the Wayne State professor, addressed issues such as the importance of race as Detroit seeks financial recovery. But Rhodes pointed out Hammer's lack of municipal finance experience and noted Hammer has publicly criticized the state law under which Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican.

Brandt expressed optimism about Detroit's restructuring plan . "I think this plan, if it works, offers Detroit a future," said Brandt.

Rhodes is expected to make a decision regarding his expert witness not later than Monday. (Editing by David Greising and Mohammad Zargham)

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CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Mt. Gox suitors seek support to save bitcoin exchange

Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:11pm EDT

(Corrects to show that Mark Karpeles is CEO, not founder, of Mt. Gox in paragraph 8)

April 17 (Reuters) - A group of investors seeking to buy Mt. Gox has launched a website to garner support from creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange to prevent a liquidation of its assets.

"We need your help to stop a liquidation, which would be good neither for Mt. Gox creditors nor bitcoin's reputation with the general public and regulators," the investors wrote on the website. (r.reuters.com/jeh68v)

Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, is likely to be liquidated after a Tokyo court dismissed the company's bid to resuscitate its business, the court appointed administrator said on Wednesday.

"The Tokyo district court recognized that it would be difficult for the company to carry out the civil rehabilitation proceedings and dismissed the application for the commencement of the civil rehabilitation proceedings," he said.

The investor group, which offered to take over the assets of Mt. Gox and revive it, has received backing from many creditors and hopes to convince the court to reconsider its rehabilitation proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (r.reuters.com/keh68v)

Mt. Gox has about 127,000 creditors.

The exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking.

Mark Karpeles, the chief executive of Mt. Gox, said he would not come to the United States to answer questions about the bankruptcy case, Mt. Gox lawyers told a U.S. federal judge on Monday. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Sampad Patnaik in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Steve Orlofsky)

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AMR loses bid to terminate retiree benefits

By Nate Raymond

NEW YORK, April 18 Fri Apr 18, 2014 7:59pm EDT

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge largely declined on Friday to rule that former American Airlines parent company AMR Corp had a unilateral right to terminate benefits for nearly 47,000 retirees.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in New York rejected a motion AMR made in 2012 for a ruling holding that the health and welfare benefits it provided retirees had not vested and could be unilaterally modified.

Lane did rule for AMR with regard to some employees, but his ruling was a setback in AMR's bid to shift the program's costs from the company to the retirees, which included both union and non-union employees.

"American will review his ruling and consider next steps related to the retiree health and life insurance benefits," said Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines. "We always remain open to productive discussions to finally resolve this matter."

AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2011, seeking to cut more than $1 billion a year in labor costs.

The company emerged from bankruptcy in November 2013 through a merger with US Airways Group Inc. The combined company is now called American Airlines Group Inc.

As part of its reorganization, the company sought to renegotiate its collective bargaining agreements with various unions for American Airlines employees.

After having reached deals with unions for its current employees, AMR turned its focus toward benefits provided to its approximately 46,930 retirees.

Though Lane ruled in favor of AMR with regard to some retirees who were non-union or management, he largely declined to rule for the company.

"The relevant documents contain language reasonably susceptible to interpretation as a promise to vest benefits and lack language categorically reserving the plaintiffs' right to terminate their contributions to the retiree benefits," Lane said.

As a result of the ruling, AMR will now need to proceed to trial should it continue to seek a ruling holding that it has the right to terminate the retirees' benefits.

Catherine Steege, a lawyer with the law firm Jenner & Block representing the official committee for retirees, said she hoped in light of the ruling the company would "reconsider its efforts to try to take away benefits from the retirees."

The case is In re: AMR Corporation, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11-15463. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Seeking expert help, Detroit bankruptcy judge interviews applicants

By Cherie Curry

DETROIT, April 18 Fri Apr 18, 2014 9:22pm EDT

DETROIT, April 18 (Reuters) - Applicants ranging from New York municipal finance expert Richard Ravitch to a local law professor bid to help Judge Steven Rhodes evaluate Detroit's financial restructuring plan, but Rhodes ended the recruitment session on Friday without naming his choice.

Sitting in court without his customary judicial robe, Rhodes interviewed the four men and one woman, repeatedly reminding them that the expert's role would be limited to advising on the feasibility of the city's plans to exit bankruptcy.

"The expert witness will be my expert and is limited to an examination of the city's plan and the reasonableness of assumptions that go into it," Rhodes said.

Detroit, with $18 billion of debt and other obligations, filed the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history in July 2013 and in recent days has reached settlements with several major creditor groups.

Ravitch, who during the 1970s advised on New York City's successful effort to avoid bankruptcy, bemoaned Detroit's woeful financial circumstance. "Detroit's problem is more severe because the problem wasn't addressed earlier on when it would have been far less expensive to solve it," he said.

Rhodes warned Ravitch, a former New York lieutenant governor, that the Detroit job would be far smaller than the task he carried out during New York city's close brush with insolvency.

"History demonstrates the outstanding work you did for New York. This assignment is different in character - it is not to help the city to solve its problems," Rhodes said.

Ravitch offered to work without pay, though he proposed just under a $1 million budget for work by his non-profit firm, the Ravitch Group. The most costly bid, from William Brandt Jr. of Development Specialists, a Chicago firm, came in at $1.6 million.

Other applicants for the job included Peter Hammer, a law professor at Wayne State University; Martha Kopacz, of Phoenix Management Services LLC in Boston; and Dean Kaplan, managing director of PFM Group of Philadelphia, which has advised on financial restructuring in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and also worked with the Detroit Public Schools.

Rhodes' questions varied little from person to person and touched on topics ranging from their qualifications, to their understanding of the problems facing Detroit to their views on the city's plan to deal with its debt.

Hammer, the Wayne State professor, addressed issues such as the importance of race as Detroit seeks financial recovery. But Rhodes pointed out Hammer's lack of municipal finance experience and noted Hammer has publicly criticized the state law under which Detroit's emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, was appointed by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican.

Brandt expressed optimism about Detroit's restructuring plan . "I think this plan, if it works, offers Detroit a future," said Brandt.

Rhodes is expected to make a decision regarding his expert witness not later than Monday. (Editing by David Greising and Mohammad Zargham)

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UPDATE 1-Mt. Gox suitors seek support to save bitcoin exchange

Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:46pm EDT

(Adds background)

April 17 (Reuters) - A group of investors is seeking to buy Mt. Gox has launched a website to garner support from creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange to prevent a liquidation of its assets.

"We need your help to stop a liquidation, which would be good neither for Mt. Gox creditors nor bitcoin's reputation with the general public and regulators," the investors wrote on the website. (r.reuters.com/jeh68v)

Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, is likely to be liquidated after a Tokyo court dismissed the company's bid to resuscitate its business, the court appointed administrator said on Wednesday.

"The Tokyo district court recognized that it would be difficult for the company to carry out the civil rehabilitation proceedings and dismissed the application for the commencement of the civil rehabilitation proceedings," he said.

The investor group, which offered to take over the assets of Mt. Gox and revive it, has received backing from many creditors and hopes to convince the court to reconsider its rehabilitation proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (r.reuters.com/keh68v)

Mt. Gox has about 127,000 creditors.

The exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking.

Mark Karpeles, the founder of Mt. Gox, said he would not come to the United States to answer questions about the bankruptcy case, Mt. Gox lawyers told a U.S. federal judge on Monday. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Sampad Patnaik in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Steve Orlofsky)

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REFILE-Mt. Gox suitors seek creditor support to save bitcoin exchange

Thu Apr 17, 2014 7:49pm EDT

(Corrects date of story to April 17 from April 18)

April 17 (Reuters) - A group of investors, which is seeking to buy Mt. Gox, has launched a website to garner support from creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange to prevent a liquidation of its assets.

"We need your help to stop a liquidation, which would be good neither for Mt. Gox creditors nor Bitcoin's reputation with the general public and regulators," the investors wrote on the website. (r.reuters.com/jeh68v)

The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Mt. Gox had given up plans to rebuild under bankruptcy protection and had asked a Tokyo court to allow it to be liquidated.

The investor group, which offered to take over the assets of Mt. Gox and revive it, has received backing from many creditors and hopes to convince the court to reconsider their rehabilitation proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (r.reuters.com/keh68v)

Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, has about 127,000 creditors.

The exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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REFILE-UPDATE 1-Mt. Gox suitors seek support to save bitcoin exchange

Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:21pm EDT

(Fixes grammar in first paragraph)

April 17 (Reuters) - A group of investors seeking to buy Mt. Gox has launched a website to garner support from creditors of the bankrupt bitcoin exchange to prevent a liquidation of its assets.

"We need your help to stop a liquidation, which would be good neither for Mt. Gox creditors nor bitcoin's reputation with the general public and regulators," the investors wrote on the website. (r.reuters.com/jeh68v)

Mt. Gox, once the world's biggest bitcoin exchange, is likely to be liquidated after a Tokyo court dismissed the company's bid to resuscitate its business, the court appointed administrator said on Wednesday.

"The Tokyo district court recognized that it would be difficult for the company to carry out the civil rehabilitation proceedings and dismissed the application for the commencement of the civil rehabilitation proceedings," he said.

The investor group, which offered to take over the assets of Mt. Gox and revive it, has received backing from many creditors and hopes to convince the court to reconsider its rehabilitation proposal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. (r.reuters.com/keh68v)

Mt. Gox has about 127,000 creditors.

The exchange filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February, saying it may have lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking.

Mark Karpeles, the founder of Mt. Gox, said he would not come to the United States to answer questions about the bankruptcy case, Mt. Gox lawyers told a U.S. federal judge on Monday. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Sampad Patnaik in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Steve Orlofsky)

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Detroit pension board OKs economic terms of proposed settlement

April 16 Wed Apr 16, 2014 3:52pm EDT

April 16 (Reuters) - Detroit's General Retirement System board on Wednesday passed a resolution supporting economic terms of a proposed settlement that is a key component in the city's historic bankruptcy case, according to a spokeswoman for the system.

Tina Bassett said the system would be releasing a statement shortly. Detroit newspapers have reported that the city's general workers and retirees would see a 4.5 percent cut in their pensions, as well as the elimination of cost of living adjustments. (Reporting By Karen Pierog; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

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