Detroit Bankruptcy Judge Issues Written Opinion

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes has released the written opinion supporting his determination that Detroit is eligible to enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

The written opinion, published Thursday, supports his verbal ruling from the bench Tuesday.

The ruling means Detroit can launch the largest American municipal bankruptcy to date. The city says it has $18.5 billion of debt it will try to restructure over the course of the case.

Rhodes, in an aspect of the ruling that wasn't widely expected so early in the process, also made it clear that the city's pensions could legally be adjusted in bankruptcy court.

"The state constitutional provisions prohibiting the impairment of contracts and pensions impose no constraint on the bankruptcy process," he wrote.

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