Interesting times - Chrysler sale on hold

An interesting turn of events -- the sale of a percentage of Chrysler Motors to Fiat (for no money changing hands?) has been put on hold by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Liberal -- appointed by BillC) From MS/NBC/Associated press:

Chrysler sale on hold, but for how long?
Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg grants delay in controversial Fiat deal

Chrysler�s five weeks of breakneck-speed bankruptcy proceedings came to a screeching � but possibly temporary � halt Monday, when a Supreme Court justice delayed its sale of assets to Italy�s Fiat.

The move could derail the government�s ambitious plan for the U.S. automaker to blaze a path to profitability without the burden of many of its debts.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued a stay just a week before Chrysler says the government-backed sale must go through. After June 15, Fiat could walk away from the deal and leave the struggling U.S. automaker with little option but to liquidate.

And a bit more:

Chrysler�s ability to speed through the process has partially been a result of the involvement of the Obama administration�s auto task force, which provided $4.5 billion in bankruptcy financing and helped negotiate a deal between the company�s stakeholders.

Under a deal brokered in the days leading up to Chrysler�s April 30 Chapter 11 filing, Fiat will receive up to a 35 percent stake in the new company created by the sale, in exchange for sharing the technology Chrysler needs to create smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

So no money will change hands, F.I.A.T. (fix it again 'tonio) will get 35 percent of what was not that long ago a good company in exchange for some nebulous technology that Chrysler itself could have developed if they had listened to their FSCKing customers... As for a liberal judge stopping this, there are some interesting legal grounds. I refer specifically to the US Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4:

To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

And the resultant U.S. Code Title 11 specifically Chapter 1, Section 105:

Sec. 105. Power of court
(a) The court may issue any order, process, or judgment that is necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this title. No provision of this title providing for the raising of an issue by a party in interest shall be construed to preclude the court from, sua sponte, taking any action or making any determination necessary or appropriate to enforce or implement court orders or rules, or to prevent an abuse of process.

yadda, yadda, yadda At the heart of the Chrysler bankruptcy process is that it is the job of the Court system to process a bankruptcy and not that of the President. What is happening here is an override of the Constitution and our legal system. An abuse of process if you will. Major props to Ms. Ginsburg for pulling the plug on this one...