Willis Carto archive

DC Bankruptcy Court Rules against Liberty Lobby

Thursday, July 5, 2001

In a ruling that promises to have a major impact on the future of Liberty Lobby, Judge Martin Teel of the Washington, DC, bankruptcy court this morning denied a motion to prevent collection attempts by Liberty Lobby’s creditors. On Tuesday, June 26, Teel had ruled that Liberty Lobby’s latest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing was in bad faith, and refused to allow them bankruptcy protection. In a last-ditch effort to avoid paying creditors, Liberty Lobby then filed a pathetically defective motion asking the court to stay collections until they could appeal Teel’s decision. In denying this motion, Teel made it clear that he expects a receiver to take over Liberty Lobby. Apparently anticipating this ruling, Liberty Lobby’s weekly tabloid, The SPOTLIGHT, blasted U.S. bankruptcy courts as being corrupt, and announced that that its latest (July 9th) issue is its last.

See also:

• The transcript of this session in court (7/5/2001)
• The order from the U.S. District Court denying Liberty Lobby’s appeal of this adverse decision (9/10/2001)
• The judge’s reasoning behind denying Liberty Lobby’s motion for stay (9/10/2001)