WXYZ) - A circuit court judge in Ingham County ruled that the City of Detroit’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy filed on Thursday violates the Michigan constitution, according to court orders she issued in three separate cases involving city pensioners.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina issued the orders Thursday and Friday, including a temporary restraining order, in an attempt to halt the Chapter 9 filing by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr. The judge says the bankruptcy filing “…will cause irreparable injury” to the pensioners.
“In order to rectify his unauthorized and unconstitutional actions described above,” wrote Judge Aquilina, the Governor must (1) direct the Emergency Manager to immediately withdraw the Chapter 9 petition filed on July 18, and (2) not authorize any further Chapter 9 filing which threatens to diminish or impair accrued pension benefits.”
The order also includes many hand-written notes through them, including a final note on one order from the judge, which states that the order will “…be transmitted to President Obama.”
The judge will hold a hearing on Monday, at 9 a.m. on the restraining order, which she also writes is in effect until August 22.
Bingo.My understanding was that this was expected to happen in the lower courts, but that eventually this would be overturned as it made its way to higher courts.
This was expected.
It will get appealed and eventually the bankruptcy will go forward. There will be a lot of back room dealing, a lot of winking and nodding, but in the end the city is bankrupt and there is nothing that anyone can do to change that. All that is left is to divide up the losses. I sincerely hope there is less corruption in the process of dividing up the losses as there was in the process of accumulating them.
Oh I agree that the bankruptcy proceeding will indeed eventually go forward. The question however is what extent pensions will be included. This ruling shows that there are significant legal doubts about the validity and constitutionality of including them in such a procedure.
There...is...no...money.
Democrats just don't get the concept.
and what about the people whose pensions are at risk? do we have to give them nothing?
Nothing minus minus equal nothing. So now taxpayers in non-union states have to pay for them? Wait, don't answer that.
and what about the people whose pensions are at risk? do we have to give them nothing?
don't we owe the people who worked all their life, a pension? or do we give them a iou?
Oh I agree that the bankruptcy proceeding will indeed eventually go forward. The question however is what extent pensions will be included. This ruling shows that there are significant legal doubts about the validity and constitutionality of including them in such a procedure.
and what about the people whose pensions are at risk? do we have to give them nothing?
The bankruptcy is a result of the Unions failing to negotiate a settlement regarding the pensions. The emergency manager attempted to negotiate with them in order to make sure they got "something" but union bosses stomped their feet, stuck fingers in their ears, and said no.
It doesn't matter whether they are included or not. There's no money to pay them. An orderly bankruptcy is more their favor than the chaos that will result without one.
Eventually you run out of other people's money.
don't we owe the people who worked all their life, a pension? or do we give them a iou?
No, the bankruptcy is a result of major economic and social shifts occurring over a period of several decades.
don't we owe the people who worked all their life, a pension? or do we give them a iou?
Well somebody is on the job protecting pensions and the rights of workers"
Judge rules Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing unconstitutional
Read more: Judge rules Detroit Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing unconstitutional
don't we owe the people who worked all their life, a pension? or do we give them a iou?
One of the attorney's at our office used to work at a firm that had a lot of municipalities as clients and a few that went through bankruptcy proceedings. He claimed that this is more prone to occur at lower courts in states where Judges have closer ties to their communities and have less over-sight. It's rare for a city or town to actually have it's filings permanently blocked, and if you make it to the State Supreme Courts they almost always back the right of the city and state governments to proceed even if it is with caveats.
This Judge in particular seems to be grandstanding: "Aquilina, a Democrat appointee, also ordered that a copy of her order be sent all the way to the White House, saying that President Obama "bailed out Detroit" and might want to take a closer look, reports the Free Press." (Detroit Bankruptcy Filing Unconstitutional, Must Be Withdrawn, Judge Orders)
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