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In re Garner, 399 B.R. 267, 273 (Bankr. D. Utah 2009) (Thurman) (CitingIn re Montoya, 341 B.R. 41 (Bankr. D. Utah 2006), and distinguishing Wachovia Dealer Services v. Jones (In re Jones), 530 F.3d 1284 (10th Cir. 2008), car lender’s silence with respect to cram down of 910-day PMSI car claim does not constitute acceptance
of plan; cram down plan cannot be confirmed notwithstanding absence of objection. “[T]he Court has an independent duty to review the Plan to ensure that it complies with the requirements of § 1325(a), including the anti-bifurcation provision of the hanging paragraph. . . . There may be instances where a creditor’s silence
constitutes acceptance of some matters under the Bankruptcy Code. The Court, however, is of the opinion that bifurcation of 910-day vehicle claims, as the Debtors propose here, is not one of those instances.”).
See Also:  Bankruptcy Lawyers Boston

U.S. theme park operator Six Flags Inc. said yesterday that it could emerge from bankruptcy as soon as March under an $830 million financing deal it is arranging with lenders, Reuters reported yesterday. The company said that it would seek court approval of its proposed reorganization plan in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in March. Six Flags filed for bankruptcy last June as fewer people attended its amusement parks, leaving it struggling with heavy debt. Six Flags’ reorganization plan is supported by a steering committee of its secured creditors and led by investment firm Avenue Capital Management, which would take control of the company under the plan. However, the company’s official unsecured creditors’ committee opposes the plan saying it undervalues the theme park operator. The case is In re  Premier International Holdings Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-12019.

See Also:  Bankruptcy Lawyers Las Vegas 

The Federal Reserve’s pledge to stop buying mortgages by the end of March is sparking fears among home builders, mortgage investors and even some Fed officials that mortgage rates could rise and knock the fragile housing recovery off course, the  Wall Street Journal  reported today. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have risen by a quarter of a percentage point in the past month to around 5.2 percent, according to HSH Associates, near their highest levels since September as the bond market has pushed up long-term interest rates amid signs of an improving economy. The recent rise in mortgage rates could be a prelude to even bigger increases in coming months as the Fed steps away from support for the market. That prospect has some in the markets counting on the Fed to change course and keep buying past March, which many officials are reluctant to do. The Fed now holds $909 billion of mortgage-backed securities. In the past year it has purchased 73% of the mortgages that government-backed Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae have turned into securities. Purchases by the Treasury pushed total government purchases above $1 trillion. The Fed says it plans to top off its purchases at $1.25 trillion by the end of March, but must decide in the months ahead whether the economy is strong enough to stick with that plan.

See Also Bankruptcy Lawyers Boston

United Airlines’ 6,500 pilots were notified yesterday that the airline intends to furlough about 950 of them by the end of 2009 as a result of plans to reduce the fleet by 100 aircraft to cope with surging oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Keith Rimer, the airline’s system chief pilot, said that because of the number of pilots on military and personal leaves, furlough notices will be sent to more than 1,400 of the airline’s least-senior pilots in order to cut the active roster by 950. The Air Line Pilots Association union is working with the company on ways to mitigate the number of involuntary furloughs.

Regional banks across the nation are being shaken to the core by the current credit crisis as home mortgages and other loans that the banks made in good times are souring so fast that many of the lenders are scrambling to remain in business, the New York Times reported today. If the pain worsens - and many analysts say it will - some of these banks may eventually seek out suitors, most likely large national rivals. “Everybody is trying to figure out where the bottom is,” said Jennifer Thompson, a regional bank analyst for Portales Partners in New York. The regional banks’ descent in the stock market has been remorseless, as weakening housing and construction markets in regions like the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest have hit lenders in those areas hard. While small and midsize lenders are in far less danger than they were during the 1980s and early 1990s, the breadth and depth of the current troubles have caught bank executives by surprise. Federal regulators are particularly concerned about the exposure of smaller banks to the commercial real estate market, which has softened in some parts of the country.

With the economy struggling, analysts say that some corporations are starting to tap so-called revolving lines of credit and other forms of backstop financing that could lead to banks being forcing them to raise money to cover the loans, the New York Times reported today. Collectively, banks have pledged to lend companies more than $1 trillion. And because most of those loans have not been made yet, and many perhaps never will be, the banks have not accounted for them on their balance sheets. Some companies, such as Univision, Porsche, CIT Group and Sprint Nextel, have already tapped lines of credit in recent months. A growing number of companies might soon follow suit, analysts say.

Tammy Andreycak, the former director of accounting for collapsed bottler Le-Nature Inc. pled guilty Thursday to bank and wire fraud, conspiracy and aiding in the preparation of false income tax returns in connection with an alleged massive scheme of deception, Bankruptcy Law360 reported on Friday. Prosecutors said that Andreycak allegedly created false accounting records at the direction of Le-Nature’s CEO Gregory J. Podlucky, who has not been charged. Andreycak and Podlucky allegedly had a computer only accessible to them to generate periodic general ledgers that became the basis for the company’s balance sheets and income statements, all of which “grossly overstated” the gross receipts and assets of the company, court documents said.

The Bank of England and the British government are considering actions that would mirror steps taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve to restore liquidity to the money markets by taking over mortgage-backed assets from banks, the New York Times reported today. Details are still being decided for the plan, which would offer government-backed bonds in exchange for securities backed by British mortgages. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the Exchequer, have come under increasing pressure to act, as banks’ continued reluctance to lend adds to woes in the British housing and consumer markets. Banks are unwilling to lend even to each other because they do not trust the value of their mortgage-backed assets at a time of falling property prices in Britain.