As restructuring efforts fell through last week, Swedish auto maker Saab faces the prospect of bankruptcy. Earlier, there was hope that Chinese investors Pang Da and Youngman would pump much-needed funds into the auto company, thus averting bankruptcy. But the Chinese have now said they are only willing to do so if they are given 100% control of the company. At the same time, the amount of money they wish to invest is only $30 million.
With these developments, it appears Swedish Automobile, the company that owns Saab has failed to save the renowned auto company. Ever since Swedish Automobile bought over Saab from General Motor in 2010, things have not boded well for the auto manufacturer. Workers have often gone unpaid and been denied job security.
The trade unions have worked alongside Swedish Automobile to try to keep as many workers from leaving as possible. Last month, the company was given three months bankruptcy protection to allow it to “restructure”. This has given cause for the unions to support Swedish Automobile and Saab CEO Victor Muller. But now that rescue efforts have not gone to plan, there are fears that the bankruptcy protection would be lifted and the company would be faced with demands from workers for unpaid salaries.
Guy Lofalk, the court appointed administrator, intends to apply for the bankruptcy protection to be lifted, saying, “It is my duty as administrator to apply for the reorganisation to cease. There is no time to find other solutions due to [Saab’s] financial situation. [It] is not in the current situation in a position suitable for continued reorganization.”
If the Chinese take over, they would shift Saab’s operations to China where the same tasks can be done for a fraction of the cost. This move would have been similar to Swedish Automobile’ plan, which was to hand over at least a 53% stake in Saab to the Chinese firms.
As a result of the developments, Saab has applied for a short term loan of €50 million from a US venture capital company, a move which would do nothing to ease the total debts the Swedish company is carrying, valued at €150 million last month. The figure would have since grown.
Another possible option is to sell a stake in Saab together with the auto maker’s plan in Trollhättan to Muller’s associate, Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. Antonov was kept out of the initial deal to buy Saab at the request of General Motors.
On the part of the unions, they have not called for protests, demonstrations or marches at all. Instead they have merely issued statements stating they hope that Swedish Automobile could raise capital from new buyers.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 26th, 2011. Comment. 
Unlike the rest of the country, Utah has seen an increase in bankruptcy filings the first nine months of this year. Overall, the nation has had a 10% decrease in bankruptcy filings but in Utah, the number has increased by 7%. According to Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, “The trend of declining filings [nationally] has been consistent with consumers continuing to rein in their spending, household debt, and an overall pullback in consumer credit.”
On the other hand, the bankruptcy court revealed that in Utah, the state’s 7% increase continues the trend in the state over the last 5 years. Ironically, this may have something to do with the state’s own economic success.
Utah’s unemployment rate is about 7.6%, significantly less than the above 9% nationwide. This may have let to less than frugal ways among the Utahans compared to consumers in other states who have been tightening their belts. According to US Bankruptcy Court in Utah 14,552 Utahans filed for bankruptcy protection during the first nine months of this year, an increase of 981 applicants from the 13,571 who filed for bankruptcy during the same period last year.
In offering an explanation for the disparate bankruptcy trends nationally and that of Utah’s, visiting professor at the American Bankruptcy Institute, John Kilborn said, “What you’ll often see is that more people will file for bankruptcy if they think the economy is improving. And it could be that some consumers in Utah see the economy a little different than elsewhere.” Kilborn stated that the reason for the bankruptcy increase during a perceived upturn in the economy is that people want to take advantage of the turnaround by eliminating their debts.
Another contributing factor could be the rate of foreclosure in the state. In other states there has been such a huge backlog of foreclosure cases in the courts that the debtors are still allowed to stay in their homes even while their cases are in court. But in Utah, the backlog is minimal, which tends to contribute towards the higher rate of bankruptcy.
33% of the 14,552 bankruptcy filings in Utah through the first nine months of this year were for Chapter 13 bankruptcy which allows debtors to repay their debts following a court-approved payment plan. The remaining 67% of the filings were for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, commonly called liquidation bankruptcy.
If you are going through financial distress, bankruptcy may be the answer to your financial problems. Bankruptcy can mean a fresh start for you and your family financially. If you wish to have a discussion with a licensed bankruptcy attorney, give us a call at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 19th, 2011. Comment.
If you are a homeowner association member filing for bankruptcy, there is an obscure provision in the law you must be aware of. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) passed in 2005 allows these associations to impose fees and other costs on you even though you are struggling financially. And since it is quite common for certain home development areas to make it compulsory to join their homeowner associations, this provision in the law directly affects you.
Even if you have filed for bankruptcy protection, the BAPCPA contains an explicit provision that prevents you from escaping any fees that are incurred during the bankruptcy process. Before the law was passed, bankruptcy courts had more freedom to excuse bankrupt homeowners. But the BAPCPA has made such fees “non-dischargeable,” and this means the judge cannot forgive the debt.
Even selling your property and filing for bankruptcy does not absolve you from paying home association fees and other related charges. As long as the ownership of the home is still under your name, you are liable regardless of whether it has been foreclosed or is due for auction. Failure to pay up may result in legal action against you.
Homeowner associations assess fees to finance amenities, and typically establish rules on home maintenance and related matters. And they impose monthly fees on every homeowner member. When the BAPCPA was drafted in 2005, some lobbyists in Washington must have spoken up for homeowner associations, which explains the provision in the law to protect their interests.
The best way to preempt this type of situation is for you to consult an experienced bankruptcy lawyer before filing for bankruptcy. More often than not, careful planning of a bankruptcy filing can help you overcome the problems related to homeowner association fees.
Jeanne Ketley, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Maryland Homeowners’ Association (MHA) said, “It’s a story that needs to be told as a warning to homeowners. The terrible thing about it is that it is all legal.” Although the homeowner associations have the legal right to press charges for its dues, it also has the discretion whether to initiate a lawsuit or negotiate other means of settlement with the homeowner. The MHA advocates for the rights of individual homeowners against the overbearing homeowner associations, but does not involved itself in bankruptcy cases.
If you want to consult a bankruptcy attorney on filing for bankruptcy or to discuss homeowner fees in your situation, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.association member filing for bankruptcy, there is an obscure provision in the law you must be aware of. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) passed in 2005 allows these associations to impose fees and other costs on you even though you are struggling financially. And since it is quite common for certain home development areas to make it compulsory to join their homeowner associations, this provision in the law directly affects you.
Even if you have filed for bankruptcy protection, the BAPCPA contains an explicit provision that prevents you from escaping any fees that are incurred during the bankruptcy process. Before the law was passed, bankruptcy courts had more freedom to excuse bankrupt homeowners. But the BAPCPA has made such fees “non-dischargeable,” and this means the judge cannot forgive the debt.
Even selling your property and filing for bankruptcy does not absolve you from paying home association fees and other related charges. As long as the ownership of the home is still under your name, you are liable regardless of whether it has been foreclosed or is due for auction. Failure to pay up may result in legal action against you.
Homeowner associations assess fees to finance amenities, and typically establish rules on home maintenance and related matters. And they impose monthly fees on every homeowner member. When the BAPCPA was drafted in 2005, some lobbyists in Washington must have spoken up for homeowner associations, which explains the provision in the law to protect their interests.
The best way to preempt this type of situation is for you to consult an experienced bankruptcy lawyer before filing for bankruptcy. More often than not, careful planning of a bankruptcy filing can help you overcome the problems related to homeowner association fees.
Jeanne Ketley, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Maryland Homeowners’ Association (MHA) said, “It’s a story that needs to be told as a warning to homeowners. The terrible thing about it is that it is all legal.” Although the homeowner associations have the legal right to press charges for its dues, it also has the discretion whether to initiate a lawsuit or negotiate other means of settlement with the homeowner. The MHA advocates for the rights of individual homeowners against the overbearing homeowner associations, but does not involved itself in bankruptcy cases.
If you want to consult a bankruptcy attorney on filing for bankruptcy or to discuss homeowner fees in your situation, call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 12th, 2011. Comment.
With speculation rife that the US is heading for a double recession, many people are contemplating filing for bankruptcy protection. If you are burdened with debt and considering bankruptcy, it would do you well to consider what bankruptcy really holds for you. On one hand, bankruptcy protection is not the end of your financial life; on the contrary, it could be your financial life saver. But on the other hand, filing for bankruptcy can be a rough ride.
I’m going to be upfront and tell you the real deal behind bankruptcy and how to survive a bankruptcy filing.
They say the best remedy is prevention. Here’s a tip that can possibly help you avert a bankruptcy filing. Go for credit counseling classes (something you will eventually have to do after filing for bankruptcy anyway). If you go for such classes before filing for bankruptcy, you will learn useful debt management tips that might help you prevent bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy is the best way to clear your unsecured debts like credit card bills, medical expenses, phone bills and any loan that is not backed up with some collateral. But the downside to that is filing for bankruptcy will adversely affect your credit rating unless you do something about it. Here’s what you should do.
Completely pay up one or more of your credit cards before filing for bankruptcy. You may need to raise some cash to pay off your card by liquidating some assets that have fewer consequences. Do it, because by bringing your card balance down to zero, this card will not be listed as one of your creditors and hence, even after filing for bankruptcy, you can keep the card to build up credit at a lower interest rate than you could possibly get after bankruptcy.
Here’s another tip to help you protect your assets from creditors. Before filing for bankruptcy, do not deposit any money at the banks where you have credit card or loan accounts. They can seize your deposits if an account goes delinquent, as yours is about to.
However, bankruptcy is not the panacea for all your financial ills. Bankruptcy will not clear away secured debts like your house, car or anything that has a lien on it. But don’t worry, if you have been making your payments (at least partially), chances are you won’t lose these important assets when you file for bankruptcy. Also, even though you file for bankruptcy you will still need to pay alimony, child support, student loans, income taxes and the like as these are financial obligations given protection under the law.
If you like these tips and want to find out more about how to survive a bankruptcy, discuss your situation with an experienced bankruptcy attorney. The bankruptcy process is getting more complex so it is advisable to seek legal counsel. You should be wary of bankruptcy specialists who charge high fees. Call us at (813) 200 4133 for a free consultation.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 7th, 2011. Comment.
Despite the endorsement and financial support from celebrity Bill Cosby, the proposed National Slavery Museum in Virginia has filed for bankruptcy protection. The United States National Slavery Museum was supposed to have opened four years ago on 38 acres along the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Then without warning, the museum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy September 21, leaving donors and supporters of the project to wonder what went wrong.
The ambitious project was the brainchild Virginia’s first black governor, Lawrence Wilder, who proposed the idea 10 years ago. It was well received and drew support from various quarters, including famous comedy star, Bill Cosby who donated $1.2 million of his personal money into the project. Yet the museum was unable to pay taxes on its donated land to the city of Fredericksburg.
Ex-governor Wilder, who is now serving as a professor in Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Public Affairs, would only say that the bad economy was to blame for the bankruptcy, adding that he “would not be making any statement at this time”. Although Wilder singled out the economy as the cause of the bankruptcy, he insisted that the museum would be built on schedule.
The museum is to be housed on a 100,000-square-foot property that includes a 450-seat theater, full-scale replica slave ship and hundreds of donated relics such as the leg irons the ancestors of many black Americans wore on the slave ships in the long, hazardous journey across the Atlantic from Africa.
Fredericksburg city treasurer Jim Hanley explained that after a period of time of non-payment of taxes, the city took steps to sell off the property to pay the taxes, but the museum filed for bankruptcy. According to the museum’s 2007 tax return, its donations came up to $577,173 and with other income, its total revenue was $581,740 that year. Its expenses totaled $527,050 that included $124,449 worth of “exhibition expenses”, advertising and marketing expenses of $27,700, and a “fundraising event expense” of $34,458. This resulted in a surplus of $54,690 for that year. But four years later came the bankruptcy filing.
According to bankruptcy documents, the museum has estimated liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million, with creditors’ unsecured claims totaling $3,233,784. Its biggest creditor is Lexington Design & Fabrication in Los Angeles, the maker of many of the museum’s high-tech exhibits who is owed $1.6 million. But the company wrote down the debt to close to $200,000.
Fredericksburg city treasurer Hanley does not expect the project to come to fruition and believes the land will be sold and the city will get its tax money, though he acknowledged that people would “still be delighted” if Wilder could get the project back on its feet.
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Filed under Chapter 7 (Tampa) by on Oct 6th, 2011. Comment.
