OPINION CHRISTOPHER M. KLEIN, Bankruptcy Judge. The retired employees of the City of Stockton want this court to order the City to keep paying for their health benefits during this chapter 9 case. The difficulty is that 11 U.S.C. 904 forbids the court from using any of its powers to "interfere with" property or revenues of a chapter 9 debtor. Accordingly, although the City's unilateral interim reduction of retiree health benefit payments may lead to tragic hardships for individuals in the...
OPINION ON MOTION FOR LEAVE TO INTRODUCE EVIDENCE RELATING TO NEUTRAL EVALUATION PROCESS UNDER CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE 53760.3(q) CHRISTOPHER M. KLEIN, Chief Judge. This case of first impression involves the boundaries, the interplay, and the common ground between federal law and state law in the context of the confidentiality requirement in California's new statute channeling a municipality through a neutral evaluation process before filing a chapter 9 case to adjust debts under the U.S....
