As Detroit’s bankruptcy lawyers await the verdict in bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Michigan, citizens of Detroit are taking notice of the restoration of city services.
Bankruptcy and business lawyers commentating on the city’s bankruptcy have noted that the city will be pressed for much harder times if the bankruptcy court dismisses Detroit’s filing.
Lead opposition to the filing are city retirees. The pensioners’ bankruptcy lawyers argue that Detroit did not negotiate in good faith with its creditors and any reduction of pension plans is unconstitutional under the Michigan Constitution.
Sam Walker jumps to attention when he hears noises at his Detroit home. But now he has an ally to help him see what’s happening outside: a bright streetlight that replaced one that was dim and barely effective.
A new light would draw a yawn in most cities, but it represents real progress in Detroit. The city is slowly restoring some services, improving others and paying vendors for the first time in months, even while attempting to turn itself around in a record-setting bankruptcy case that has reached a critical point.
After a nine-day trial, Judge Steven Rhodes must decide whether Detroit really qualifies for the court’s help to fix its awful long-term finances — including $18 billion debt. Although they haven’t offered specifics, officials predict a “free-fall crisis” if the city is found ineligible and warn that the improved services, such as those streetlights, could suffer.
The judge’s decision is expected any day.
“If the bankruptcy is disallowed, frankly, expect all hell to break loose,” said Anthony Sabino, a lawyer who teaches business law at St. John’s University in New York. “Detroit will be at the mercy of its creditors in individual lawsuits spread amongst federal and state courts. That chaos alone could doom the city.”
He compares it to animals in the wild — “wolves rending the carcass piece by piece.”
Emergency manager Kevyn Orr, the state appointee who now controls Detroit’s checkbook, acknowledges things will get worse if bankruptcy is rejected, but he’s not saying exactly how bad.
“The city would go back to where it was. We can’t go back,” he told a business group Tuesday.
Unions, retirees and pension funds with much to lose have led the opposition. They argued at trial that Detroit flunked critical steps necessary to remake itself under Chapter 9, especially a lack of genuine negotiations in the weeks before the July filing.
They uncovered memos and emails about bankruptcy planning and previously unpublicized doubts by the state treasurer. It is evidence, they insist, that the fix was in and Detroit really didn’t want to negotiate with creditors. Orr said four weeks were plenty.
“The governor took more time to interview the consultants to help the city with restructuring than they took to negotiate the restructuring itself. That’s absurd,” attorney Sharon Levine, representing AFSCME, told the judge.
Still, there seems no dispute that Detroit is broke. The bankruptcy filing placed a gate in front of bond holders and others who were owed money at the time. It gives the city flexibility in the short term, freeing cash for other bills.
“Everyone is getting paid: employees, vendors, health care etc.,” said Bill Nowling, Orr’s spokesman. “Right now, we are paying 98 percent of our vendors within 30 days, and that hasn’t happened in decades.”
ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/dire-predictions-detroit-bankruptcy-rejected-20890886
