Creditors approve US Airways reorganization plan ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) =97 As expected, US Airways' creditors voted=20 overwhelmingly to approve the airline's reorganization plan, which=20 undergoes a final review by a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday. Also on Monday,= =20 the federal government objected to the reorganization plan proposed by=20 bankrupt US Airways, saying it unfairly limits the legal liability of the=20 airline's legal and financial advisers. Bankruptcy experts said the dispute= =20 is a common one that should not present a significant hurdle to the=20 airline's overall plans. The airline said Monday that all the creditor=20 classes approved the plan with a minimum support of 81 percent. Unsecured=20 creditors will receive only 1 to 2 cents on the dollar against their=20 claims. Shareholders will get nothing; they did not vote on the plan. The objection from the U.S. Trustee's office came one day before Tuesday's= =20 confirmation hearing, in which US Airways hopes Bankruptcy Judge Stephen=20 Mitchell will give his blessing to the airline's plan and allow it to=20 emerge from bankruptcy at the end of the month. The trustee's objection is= =20 one among more than a dozen filed by various parties, including the=20 airline's pilots' union, which has objected to efforts to terminate its=20 pension plan. Dennis Early, a lawyer with the trustee's office, declined to= =20 comment on the filing. In the 12-page motion, the trustees say the airline= =20 improperly seeks to limit the liability of its lawyers, financial advisers,= =20 creditors' committee and other groups to instances of willful misconduct.=20 "Standards of professionalism dictate that attorneys not shield themselves= =20 from liability potentially resulting from carrying out fiduciary duties on= =20 behalf of clients," Early wrote in the brief. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said the airline is working to=20 resolve objections filed by the trustee's office and other groups. "But if= =20 not, we believe we will prevail in court," Castelveter said. Evelyn Biery,= =20 who heads the bankruptcy practice for the Houston-based law firm Fulbright= =20 and Jaworsky, said it is common for the trustee and a bankrupt company to=20 differ on the issue of legal liability because bankruptcy law does not=20 spell out a specific legal standard. "The bankruptcy professionals of all=20 kinds will all try to get as much immunity from their own negligence as=20 they can," she said. "The U.S. Trustee always takes a firm position against= =20 that." Perhaps the most serious objection to the airline's reorganization=20 plan comes from the Air Line Pilots Association. The airline wants to=20 terminate the existing plan and hand it over the federal Pension Benefits=20 Guaranty Corporation. They would replace the old plan with a new, smaller=20 plan that would save the company about $800 million over the next seven=20 years. The pilots, many of whom could see their benefits cut in half, are=20 fighting the airline. But over the weekend the union's actuaries concluded= =20 that US Airways' financial projections about the need to terminate the plan= =20 are accurate. The union and airline still differ, though, on specific=20 issues related to the pension. Negotiations are ongoing. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************