Pennsylvania and Mayor of the City Harrisburg Seek Dismissal of the City of Harrisburgs Chapter 9 Bankruptcy

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In another strange twist, the Mayor of the City of Harrisburg, the Honorable Linda D. Thompson, has hired counsel for the City of Harrisburg to seek dismissal of the Chapter 9 bankruptcy case filed by the City of Harrisburg.  Huh?  You read that right.  On October 16, 2011, a Sunday, Mayor for the City of Harrisburg filed a motion to modify or vacate an order by the Bankruptcy Court to send out notice to creditors of the Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing.  The Mayor seeks to prevent notice of the bankruptcy case from being mailed arguing the bankruptcy case should be dismissed entirely.

The Mayor of the City of Harrisburg claims that the Chapter 9 petition filed on behalf of Harrisburg was signed by an unauthorized council member.  It appears that four city council member voted in favor of filing bankruptcy for the city on October 11, 2011.  The Mayor did not agree with these four council members.  The Mayor is arguing that she has executive power over the city and only she is the governing municipal officer capable of signing a petition for bankruptcy.  The Mayor further argues that providing notice before the issue of whether the case can go forward would force the city to incur significant cost given that the number of parties to provide notice to would be in the thousands.  This is definitely a valid concern if the bankruptcy case will not go forward and is dismissed.  The cost and expense of notifying Harrisburg’s creditors would not only be expensive but cause further complications in the event the bankruptcy court rules in favor of the Mayor or the State of Pennsylvania regarding their requests for dismissal.

As the case moves along many creditors and parties in interest seek special notice of all documents filed in the case.  So far a group called Debt Watch Harrisburg and the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local Union No. 428, have filed requests for special notice with the court.

So, the Common Wealth of Pennsylvania is seeking dismissal of the bankruptcy case arguing the City of Harrisburg violated state law in filing the bankruptcy petition and now the Mayor of the City of Harrisburg on behalf of the city is arguing the petition for bankruptcy is invalid because the party that signed it lacks to the proper authority.  This case is facing an uphill battle from every direction.  A hearing will be held on November 23, 2011, regarding these various issues.  It will be interesting to see if this bankruptcy case will survive.

For more information from an experienced bankruptcy lawyer or bankruptcy attorney visit us at www.westcoastbk.com.