Chrysler to Emerge From C11 on Monday
Provided, that is, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) turns down Indiana’s request to overrule the sale of assets from Old, Crap Chrysler to New, Italian-controlled Chrysler. This after the U.S. Appeals Court told the gearbox-factory-jilted state’s lawyers to piss off. Or, more specifically, “You can’t wait for a better deal to come in from Studebaker.” Wait schmait; the three judges returned their decision about 10 minutes after Indiana’s lawyers finished their arguments. “There’s one more stop on the train,” Tom Lauria, a lawyer for the Indiana pension funds said, after the court’s ruling. Yes, well, New Chrysler left the station a while ago. One of our Best and Brightest has an interesting take on this (after the jump), but again, I reckon this is a done deal.
Well, a very interesting conference there will be at SCOTUS on Monday!
Assuming that there are no self-recusals for stock ownership (but shouldn’t they all recuse because they are taxpayers?), I can envision a scenario where Alito, Roberts, Thomas, and Scalia find likelihood of success and therefore would preliminarily enjoin the sale pending expedited briefing and argument.
However, then one of the others says, “Look guys, you can get this case heard, but you are going to lose 5/4, and in the interim FIAT walks away, and then it’s all OUR fault. So, suck it up, and take one for the team.”
Except, seeing as Congress declined to give TARP funds to the automakers… do the institutional aims of SCOTUS usually include allowing the Executive branch to rule by fiat? (Sorry, could not resist. RF, feel free to use, but don’t attribute.) But I think the only way that the four named above can get another vote is to appeal to the others’ amour-propre and not to the rule of law!
It is actually a very “nice” legal issue: “As long as there is some non-trivial amount of competent evidence that the Ch. 11 plan gives the objecting creditor more than a Ch. 7 liquidation would, does that fact that a non-objecting creditor get treated even better invalidate the Plan?” (We can call it the ‘The Parable of the Vineyard Workers’ test. You know—”What business of yours is my generosity with others; you got the wages you bargained for.”)
In other words, does passing the “more favorable than Ch. 7” test confer immunity on favoritism? As a precedent, I think that is very dangerous. But SCOTUS can’t put in a footnote that says, “This decision shall be non-precedental, except for any other bankruptcy BH Obama really cares a lot about.”
Well, by 4:00 PM Monday, we should know how much is left of the Republic.
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- TheEndlessEnigma Of course they should unionize. US based automotive production component production and auto assembly plants with unionized memberships produce the highest quality products in the automotive sector. Just look at the high quality products produced by GM, Ford and Chrysler!
- Redapple2 Got cha. No big.
- Theflyersfan The wheel and tire combo is tragic and the "M Stripe" has to go, but overall, this one is a keeper. Provided the mileage isn't 300,000 and the service records don't read like a horror novel, this could be one of the last (almost) unmodified E34s out there that isn't rotting in a barn. I can see this ad being taken down quickly due to someone taking the chance. Recently had some good finds here. Which means Monday, we'll see a 1999 Honda Civic with falling off body mods from Pep Boys, a rusted fart can, Honda Rot with bad paint, 400,000 miles, and a biohazard interior, all for the unrealistic price of $10,000.
- Theflyersfan Expect a press report about an expansion of VW's Mexican plant any day now. I'm all for worker's rights to get the best (and fair) wages and benefits possible, but didn't VW, and for that matter many of the Asian and European carmaker plants in the south, already have as good of, if not better wages already? This can drive a wedge in those plants and this might be a case of be careful what you wish for.
- Jkross22 When I think about products that I buy that are of the highest quality or are of great value, I have no idea if they are made as a whole or in parts by unionized employees. As a customer, that's really all I care about. When I think about services I receive from unionized and non-unionized employees, it varies from C- to F levels of service. Will unionizing make the cars better or worse?
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Long126mike: I would have let Chrysler die in 1979, since I think that bailout sewed the current seeds of destruction. I am very eager to see what Penske can do with Saturn. I currently drive Toyotas but I am open to an quality product. I just will have to have a lot more grey hair before I return to GM. I absolutely loved this comment: If I ran the world, he’d be lucky that the least I did was seize everything he owns and put him in a work camp shoveling cow dung for the next 5 years. Thanks