Bankruptcy

The Ottawa Senators, unable to pay their players last week, might end up filing for bankruptcy. TSN in Canada reported yesterday that an official announcement could come as early as today. The Ottawa Sun reported the Senators would file for protection from their creditors in Canada and the United States and receive a short-term cash infusion from the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the only franchise in the four major American pro sports leagues to file for federal bankruptcy protection in the last 29 years.

For nearly nine months, Sheri Dabill had dreamed of Mexican sunsets and mariachi bands. Like most of the 28 other members of the Spanish Club at Twin Valley High School near Reading, the 14-year-old freshman had worked weekends and evenings after school to raise the $950 price for a 10-day trip to Mexico this month. They also raised money with door-to-door selling of jewelry, hoagies and candy. Now, their dreams are shattered. Thursday night, they learned that the Florida tour company that had arranged their trip had filed for bankruptcy.

If you ask Milton Grant, he will tell you that the bankruptcy-court action that transfers his three television stations to his company's creditors and bondholders was not a defeat, but a demonstration of his business acumen. After all, he says, the reorganization plan approved last week by Judge David A. Scholl in Philadelphia provides for the repayment of $420 million of Grant Broadcasting System Inc.'s debts. And it allows the continued operation of Grant's three television stations, including WGBS (Channel 57)

Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol emerged from bankruptcy Thursday, two years after the 186-bed facility filed for protection from creditors. Bondholders, still owed $24.9 million, are expected to receive 35 percent of their claims, according to Moody's Investors Service. The hospital's bankruptcy plan was approved last month. Key to the bankruptcy plan was a $14 million loan, secured by the hospital's campus, through the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority. The hospital said it employs more than 900. - Harold Brubaker

Conston Corp., a specialty retailer of women's large-size clothing, said yesterday it would file for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code in federal court in Delaware. The Philadelphia-based retailer, which operates stores under the names 14 Plus and 16 Plus, had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings only last April. Then last November, it was dealt a major blow when its parent company ended financing for Conston because of its own problems. Ira Quint, Conston president and chief executive officer, did not return phone calls yesterday.

A bankruptcy judge in Philadelphia has approved a plan of reorganization for the Carlton House at 1801 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, ending what is believed to be one of the largest and most complex bankruptcy cases ever in this area. Judge David A. Scholl confirmed the plan Wednesday night. The limited partnership that owns the 30-story apartment, retail and office building, TM Carlton House Partners, will emerge from bankruptcy June 30 when the plan becomes effective, Lawrence G. McMichael, a Center City lawyer who represented the group in the case, said yesterday.

It will be weeks before a federal judge decides where the Bhopal gas disaster case will be heard - in the U.S. or India. It may be years before the Bhopal victims receive settlements, and perhaps a lifetime before some recover from injuries suffered in what has been called the world's worst industrial accident. Environmental disasters, occurring as sudden accidents or slow contamination, seem to be happening with ever increasing frequency. They all have several common features: exposure of persons, property and the environment to highly toxic substances, strict liability for polluters, extensive litigation and huge damage claims.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News took a big step toward exiting bankruptcy Thursday, when a federal judge approved the reorganization plan of the newspapers' parent company. Chief Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Raslavich approved the plan that calls for Philadelphia Newspapers L.L.C., which owns the papers and the website Philly.com, to be sold to the company's senior lenders for about $139 million. The senior lenders, a collection of about 30 financial institutions, are to settle on the sale by Oct. 8. The debtholders include Angelo, Gordon & Co., Credit Suisse, and Alden Global Capital.