CHICAGO -- Financial creditors, led by bond insurers challenging Detroit's bankruptcy plan, have asked the judge overseeing the case to delay the trial by nearly two months.
The creditors
The city is weeks behind in releasing key documents, making the current schedule "untenable and unreasonable," the creditors said. They want the trial to begin on Sept. 18. It's currently scheduled to start on July 24.
Detroit would like to stick to the current schedule for the all-important plan confirmation trial because the city wants to resolve the Chapter 9 case by the end of September, when emergency manager Kevyn Orr is set to leave his post. Gov. Rick Snyder, who runs for re-election in November, has repeatedly said the goal is to have the city exit bankruptcy by early fall.
The city last week told the court it believed it would complete its document production by June 20. That's weeks after an original deadline and seven days before a fact deposition cutoff, according to the creditors.
The city just a few days ago released "critical documents" from city consultants and advisors like Ernst & Young, Milliman, and Conway MacKenzie, as well as documents showing the "factual circumstances underlying the city's bankruptcy," the filing said.
Creditors say they need more time to compile expert witness lists and conduct depositions.
The creditors filing the brief are: bond insurers Ambac Assurance Corp., National Public Finance Guarantee Corp., Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., and Syncora Guarantee Inc.; banks that hold the city's pension certificates of participation; Oakland County; U.S. Bank NA, acting as trustee for the water and sewer bonds; and the Police Officers Association and Detroit Fire Fighters Association.
The creditors have repeatedly requested schedule delays, saying it is being driven by artificial political deadlines. In early March, Rhodes agreed to push it back by one month, to July 16 from June 16, following creditor requests. He has since delayed it by another few days.
