Chrysler not safe yet: appeal granted

The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear a challenge to the sale of Chrysler LLC assets by a group funds led by Indiana’s Treasurer, which could delay Chrysler’s ability to reopen its plants and resume fleet sales. While the funds hold a very small portion of Chrysler’s debt, purchased at a steep discount, the deal is on hold pending their appeal on Friday at 2 pm.  

Some industry analysts have suggested that the challenges are mainly political grandstanding, and the briefs filed do tend to read more as indictments of Barack Obama than as serious political argument. To avoid unnecessary delays, bankruptcy court judge Arthur Gonzalez ordered that the challenge be heard directly by the court of appeals, bypassing the local district court.

The judges hearing the case will be Dennis Jacobs, Amalya Kearse, and Robert Sack. Jacobs was appointed by George H.W. Bush; Kearse by Jimmy Carter; and Sack by Bill Clinton.