Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Law

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Many people in today’s economy are struggling to pay their debts. In the old days, debtors were punished and sometimes even sent to prison for failing to pay what they owed. Today, the law provides debtors with numerous rights.
The Bankruptcy Code is contained in Title 11 of the United States Code and has eight chapters. The most common types of relief debtors seek are, Chapter 7 provides for liquidation proceedings; Chapter 11 governs reorganization; and Chapter 13 provide for the adjustment of debts by persons with regular income.
Bankruptcy law in the United States has two main goals, one is to protect a debtor by giving him or her a fresh start without creditors’ claims and the second is to ensure equitable treatment of creditors who
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According to CNN Money, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 2001, in Northern California despite months of efforts by state officials to bail out the cash-starved company. The company’s value at bankruptcy was$36.15 billion. PG&E’s bankruptcy filing is the third-largest in U.S. history but does not affect the utility's parent company, PG&E Corp., or any other PG&E division.
According to Business Insider, PG&E, fell victim to the state's electricity crisis of 2000-2001. Blackouts swept the state and costs soared through the roof, because of California's deregulation of the energy industry in 1996. Enron did not help the situation either by manipulating prices by cutting off power.
Before filing for bankruptcy executives from Pacific Gas and Electric met with the California Governor's negotiators to work out a resolution. The California Governor finally proposed a plan that increased rates which, he felt would help pay off the utilities' debts. But in the end, none of it was enough to save Pacific Gas and Electric from filing for
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PG&E’s chairman expressed that the regulatory and political processes failed them, so PG&E had no choice but to turn to the courts for assistance.
The PG&E case is a great example of a corporations using their rights to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a reorganization, the creditors and the debtor formulate a plan under which the debtor pays a portion of the debts and is discharged of the remainder. The debtor is allowed to continue carrying out business.
According to The New York Times, PG&E’s filing, seeks reorganization under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, shifts decision-making about crucial aspects of the California energy debacle from officials in Sacramento, the state capital, to a federal bankruptcy court in San Francisco, where Pacific Gas and Electric has its headquarters. PG&E expects no disruptions in service to its 13 million customers nor do they expect to lay off any of its 20,000 employees. This is a prime example of PG&E continuing to carry out its business like normal. But according to SFGate, the move could lead to substantially higher rates for consumers if a bankruptcy judge places PG&E's $9 billion in debt obligations on