Just after the Bankruptcy Court held that Detroit is indeed eligible for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr reiterated that he expects the Detroit Institute of Arts to contribute financially to the city’s plan to emerge from insolvency. Said Orr, “We’d like to find a way to monetize the DIA.”
Post Eligibility Ruling, Kevyn Orr Reiterates Expectation That DIA will Contribute Revenue to City’s Financial Plan
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on December 3, 2013 at 1:47 PM
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Topics: DIA collection sale, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, DIA, Kevyn Orr, Detroit Bankruptcy
Detroit Institute of Arts Responds Swiftly to Detroit Bankruptcy Eligibility Ruling
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on December 3, 2013 at 7:16 AM
The Detroit Institute of Arts was ready: the museum released a statement immediately after the Bankruptcy Court's ruling today that Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy (in which specific reference to the DIA collection was made). As we expected, DIA took aim at last week's creditors, and make clear its vehement objection to the capitalization of the museum's collection. The statement reads:
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Topics: DIA collection sale, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Bankruptcy
Detroit Bankruptcy Will Proceed, Judge’s Comments about Detroit Institute of Arts Could Affect Involvement or Sale of Artwork
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on December 3, 2013 at 6:59 AM
The Hon. Steven W. Rhodes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has ruled that Detroit may proceed with its Chapter 9 bankruptcy. Judge Rhodes explained his ruling for over an hour from the bench, finding Chapter 9 itself to be constitutional, and addressing other challenges including the requirements of Michigan state law, whether the city had bargained in good faith, and the extent to which pensions could be cut in the eventual plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The written decision is not yet available, but check back later in the day and it will be posted here.
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Topics: kevyn, DIA collection sale, Steven W. Rhodes, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Mi, Christie's, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, DIA, Detroit Bankruptcy
Detroit Creditors Press Bankruptcy Court for Action on Sale of Detroit Institute of Arts Collection, Motion Likely Premature and Unfounded
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on November 27, 2013 at 9:11 AM
Major creditors of the city of Detroit filed a request in the bankruptcy proceeding to hasten the process of evaluating the value of the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. The motion raises a few questions, but fundamentally it is off-base: in a municipal bankruptcy the creditors are never going to be able to force the sale of DIA's art. It will ultimately be, as it has always been, the decision of the city through its emergency manager Kevyn Orr. Significantly, though, this is the first actual filing in the bankruptcy related to DIA.
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Topics: Syncora Guarantee Inc., NORD/LB Covered Finance Bank S.A., City of Detroit Retirees, 11 U.S.C. § 904, Syncora Capital Assurance Inc., Dexia Crédit Local, FMS-WM Service, Christie's, valuation, Ambac Assurance Corporation, Appraisal, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Bankruptcy, FMS Wertmanagement, DIA, Erste Europäische Pfandbrief-und Kommunalkreditban, Hypothekenbank Frankfurt International S.A., Dexia Holdings, Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of, AFL-CIO and Sub-Chapter 98, Kevyn Orr, Hypothekenbank Frankfurt AG, Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, Detroit Bankruptcy, National Association
Detroit Bankruptcy Eligibility Trial Begins, Art Collection Could Hang in the Balance
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on October 23, 2013 at 5:22 AM
Trial begins today in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit over whether the city of Detroit is even eligible for the Chapter 9 bankrupcty protection it sought earlier this year. The major point of contention is whether Detroit may, under the Michigan constitution, seek bankrupcty in a way that would reduce pension payments (as it would reduce payment to all its creditors).
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Topics: American Alliance of Museums, Ford Bell, Detroit, Bankruptcy, Detroit In, Kevyn Orr, Detroit Free Press, Detroit Bankruptcy
Salon Piece Confirms Primacy of State Law in Detroit Bankruptcy Dispute
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on August 23, 2013 at 1:08 AM
Professor Adam J. Levitin of Georgetown has an excellent piece in Salon this week that adds to what I like to call the sober group of discussions about the Detroit Institute of Art collection in the context of the City of Detroit Bankruptcy. From a learned perspective, Professor Levitin echoes some of the themes we’ve addressed here so far, namely:
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Topics: Adam J. Levitin, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Bankruptcy, Collections, Detroit Bankruptcy
City of Detroit Hires Christie's to Appraise Detroit Institute of Arts Collection
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on August 5, 2013 at 11:47 AM
In connection with the Detroit bankruptcy, auction house Christie's announced on Monday that it has been hired to "assist and advise on how to realize value for the city while leaving the art in the city's ownership." According to the Christie's press release, the auction house was hired by the City of Detroit itself, which has floated the idea before (and which the museum itself has opposed publicly).
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Topics: Christie's, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Collections, Museums, Detroit Bankruptcy
Detroit Institute of Arts Deaccessioning: Municipal Bankruptcy, Existing and Proposed Changes to Michigan Law Affect Debate
Posted by
Nicholas O'Donnell on August 5, 2013 at 6:20 AM
An important qualifier to the discussion about deaccessioning and the Detroit Institute of Arts is that although DIA is a subdivision of the bankruptcy debtor (Detroit), that debtor is not any old commercial entity. Rather, Detroit is a municipality, and municipal and state debtors are governed by slightly different rules than private parties.
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Topics: Legislation, Donn Zaretsky, Deaccession, Chapter 9, 11 U.S.C. § 904, Public Trust, Attorney General of Michigan, Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Bankruptcy, Collections, Bankruptcy Code, Association of Art Museum Directors, Bill Schuette, Detroit Emergency City Manager, Kevyn Orr, Museums, Detroit Bankruptcy, AAMD
