Ann Arbor man worried that Detroit bankruptcy could affect payment of $2 million settlement
Much attention has been given to how the Detroit bankruptcy filing will affect the city’s pension funds, debt obligations and art museum, but one class of creditors is looking to stake their claims ahead of the pack.
The Detroit News reports that plaintiffs in civil cases against the city of Detroit, including one Ann Arbor man owed more than $2 million, have filed requests with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes to allow them to lift automatic stays on their cases and pursue their claims ahead of bankruptcy proceedings.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes is considering creating a committee for all civil plaintiffs against the City of Detroit, including Michael Beydoun.
Courtesy photo
Judge Rhodes has said he is contemplating creating a committee to represent civil plaintiffs against the city, an option that Beydoun’s lawyer is not enthusiastic about.
In May 2012, Beydoun took over management of a Mobil gas station on the corner of Carpenter Road and Washtenaw Avenue in Pittsfield Township.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Get in touch with Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2
Comments
Snarf Oscar Boondoggle
Tue, Aug 20, 2013 : 8:17 p.m.
find a chair; the music has stopped
Mike
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:29 a.m.
It sucks for all owed money but Detroit is broke..............the taxpayers should not be stuck with the tab..............
Frenchman
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 2:34 a.m.
$2 Million for a car accident? Get a job.
Tom Todd
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 3:06 p.m.
Times they have changed, people borrow without ever having to pay back, sounds like America or Americans.
jcj
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 12:18 a.m.
The Detroit News story said... The crash, the lawyer said, left Beydoun with nerve damage along with pain, numbness and atrophy in his arm/neck area. All pretty vague injuries hard to verify. Not saying he does not have these symptoms, Just saying...
MARK
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.
Perhaps Mr Beydoun can sue his attorney for legal malpractice for failing to recognize the possibility of a Detroit bankruptcy and not advising him to take the settlement.
MARK
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 10:42 p.m.
The same legal system that allowed him to sue and get the $2,000,000 judgment also allows bankruptcy. You cannot pick and choose which laws you want. You have to take the whole Tamale
Basic Bob
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 10:07 p.m.
"The jury awarded plaintiff $250,000 in past and future noneconomic damages.... Plaintiff, who designs and builds in the field of construction, testified that he lost more than $540,000 in jobs that he had begun but could not complete after the accident.... The jury awarded plaintiff future economic damages of $1,493,250.... approximately $100,000 to $150,000 a year in lost income"
snapshot
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 7:01 p.m.
Will the plaintiff use any of that money to reimburse the people who lost money as a result of him not completing the jobs he was contracted to perform?
nickcarraweigh
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 9:01 p.m.
All this emotional whipsawing must be hell. First he gets slammed into, which is bad, but it turns out to be a Detroit police car, which is good because Detroit self-insures and Wayne County juries hand out millions like Santa at the mall hands out candy canes, but then more bad when Detroit finds out about his lawsuit and decides to go bankrupt on him. And people think Job had it bad, until they actually read the story.
pegret
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 8:44 p.m.
I agree with justcurious. I feel a lot worse for the people of Detroit and some of the "other plaintiffs in legal limbo", including the man who spent almost 10 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder, and the working-class residents who have been fighting the city over water and tax bills. From the Detroit News Article: "At 6:30 p.m., Detroit police officer Charles Wills Jr. was on patrol near Telegraph and Schoolcraft in Redford Township. He drove through a red light and collided with Beydoun's car, which was headed west on Schoolcraft. The crash, the lawyer said, left Beydoun with nerve damage along with pain, numbness and atrophy in his arm/neck area — a condition that hurt his ability to work as an architect. Before the crash, Beydoun earned as much as $300,000 a year. Afterward, he made $115,000 less, according to court records." The article doesn't mention whether or not the cop had lights or sirens on, and if so, whether or not Beydoun had pulled over. The article also states that Beydoun (who now only makes $185,000.00 a year) and his lawyer are angry that the Gov. has not yet forced the DIA to sell off works of art to make sure that he receives his 2 million. I can't quite get behind that.
PeteM
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
I feel badly for this person, and hope he gets a reasonable recovery, but also feel the same way about all of the creditors. His claim is no different than the guy who cleans the offices or supplies printer paper whose businesses may depend on getting paid something as well.
Ed Kimball
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:46 p.m.
Sorry, Snapshot, but there are few "individual bond investors". Nearly all the bonds were bought by big financial companies who took a big risk in hopes of getting a big reward. It's a little like betting on a long shot at the horse races. Unlike "individual bond investors", these people understood (or at least were paid to understand) the risk. Unfortunately for them, their horse lost.
snapshot
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 6:59 p.m.
He's also no more important than the individual bond investors that everyone feels its OK to throw under the bus. I'm always amazed that public unions think its OK for individual investors to lose THEIR retirement income and investments as long as union interests are protected.
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 8:21 p.m.
Geez, don't we all wish we had worries like this guy's? I worked a white collar job in a large machining factory back in the late 60s. I saw first-hand that everyone was on the take in Detroit, regardless of skin color. This "attitude" and "approach to life" goes way, way back in Detroit, at least to the late 50s. The really big reward: should be created for the individual or group which comes up with a plan making Detroit functional and livable again. Detroit is dead, long live Detroit!
Stupid Hick
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 7:45 p.m.
"Geez, don't we all wish we had worries like this guy's?" He was a victim. A court agreed he deserved compensation, which he might not get. Yet your takeaway is "no big deal", he didn't deserve it anyway because you judge anyone who lives in Detroit is tainted, "regardless of skin color". Someone needs to think more about whose "attitude" and "approach to life" is despicable.
you can't handle the truth
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 7:55 p.m.
Anyone looking to get a structured settlement out of that disaster of a city should have known better. His attorney should have been looking to settle that thing for a lump sum.
walker101
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 7:38 p.m.
Good luck, should of taken the the settlement.
Stupid Hick
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 7:30 p.m.
What an upside-down view of justice you have.
Tom Joad
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
Say goodbye to the billion dollars worth of DIA art...see it while you can in one place. Wonder if they'll keep the Diego Rivera murals? they've already had appraisers there from Christies and other auction houses.
Are you serious?
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 10:10 p.m.
As I recall it is not clear who exactly owns at least some of the art.
PeteM
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 8:24 p.m.
Two points: 1. One of the goals of reorganization is to allow the entity to go forward. Debtor's in reorganizations don't sell all their assets. American Airlines didn't sell all its planes. GM didn't sell all its plants. While the DIA may not be as central to the city's functioning as City Hall or the police headquarters, the ability of the city to attract visitors, businesses and residents is based on the part on its cultural infrastructure. 2. No rational person would dump art in the volume of Detroit's collection on the market in a fire sale -- it would dramatically reduce overall prices.
justcurious
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 6:23 p.m.
I have more sympathy for the Detroit residents than I do this man. Go figure....
OLDTIMER3
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 2:51 p.m.
I wonder was he seriously injured or permanently injured by this accident? If not why the huge settlement? Ambulance chasing attorneys? Did the police car have its flashers and siren going? My son was rear ended and his vehicle totaled , suffers from back and neck pain and even after court case{which he won } Still can't collect anything more than this mini tort law allows.
SonnyDog09
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 6:13 p.m.
Get in line with the other creditors and be happy for whatever you end up getting.
Ed Kimball
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 12:41 p.m.
Raise taxes on whom? Detroit already has a relatively high tax rate, and most of the people who can afford to pay have moved out of the city to the suburbs to avoid Detroit taxes. Most of those who fled don't seem to care much about Detroit's troubles.
Stupid Hick
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 7:27 p.m.
What ever happened to personal responsibility? Raise taxes and pay obligations in full would be the responsible thing to do.
Hmm
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 5:59 p.m.
What about those two officers that won the settlement with the city over the text messaging scandal, Gary Brown and I forget the other guys name. If I recall they were awarded something like 8 million dollars did they collect their payments yet? Gary Brown is currently working for Kevin Orr so if he was not paid already it would be interesting to know if he is expecting to ever get that money.
walker101
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 7:42 p.m.
In a settlement reached, a jury ruled in favor of the two former Detroit police officers, awarding them $6.5 million in the whistleblower lawsuit. Kilpatrick stated that he was shocked by the jury's decision, and that he did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing. [USA TODAY: MAYOR WHISTLEBLOWER] This was back in 2007 so they probably got the money.
EyeHeartA2
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 5:22 p.m.
Better call Sam (again).
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 5:20 p.m.
How about Ann Arbor.com ask the guy what the lesser settlement offer was? I think that's a question a reporter should ask. And if you did ask and they declined to answer you should put that in the story.
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 8:11 p.m.
Good point, Craig. Thanks.
Greg
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 4:57 p.m.
Funny how there is nobody who thinks their claims aren't the most important.
Tom Todd
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 5:53 p.m.
All assets should be on the table in a Bankruptcy.
Craig Lounsbury
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 5:17 p.m.
Indeed. The thing with bankruptcy its about getting out from under debt. if your a creditor your in a bad spot.
Pizzicato
Tue, Aug 13, 2013 : 4:40 p.m.
Same thing happened during the GM bankruptcy, and people yawned. Onward, "greater good"!