Bankruptcy judge denies request from Washington Mutual shareholders for independent examiner
By Randall Chase, APWednesday, May 5, 2010
WaMu shareholders lose request for examiner
WILMINGTON, Del. — The judge in Washington Mutual Inc.’s bankruptcy case has denied a request from shareholders for an independent examiner in the case.
The judge on Wednesday refused to appoint an examiner to review Washington Mutual’s proposed settlement of a $4 billion dispute with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that is the basis for WaMu’s proposed reorganization plan.
The shareholders argued that Washington Mutual is trying to rush the settlement without adequately analyzing the value of potential litigation claims stemming from the FDIC’s seizure of Washington Mutual’s flagship bank in 2008 and the sale of its assets to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion.
Washington Mutual argued that the shareholders simply were trying to derail its plan because they stand to recover nothing.
