JCP - J.C. Penney Ordered to Pay $250000 to Shareholder Group
Maneuvering continues among various parties as J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) attempts to navigate its recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerge on the other side as a viable, operational retailer. In the latest public development, bankruptcy judge David Jones has ordered the company to pay $250,000 to an informal shareholder's group, defusing an attempt by the shareholders to have the bankruptcy reversed entirely.
Arguing that bankruptcy is an absolute necessity for the company, J.C. Penney's lawyer Joshua Sussberg says disallowing Chapter 11 protection "would have left the company on a desolate island without a chance for survival." In exchange for the $250,000, the shareholder group will forgo its attempt to have the bankruptcy nullified. Had the effort gone ahead, the result would likely have been a costly courtroom battle for J.C. Penney at a time when it needs all its resources for dramatically restructuring its business.
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