Delphi Corp. and the U.S. Department of Labor have reached a compromise in a dispute over the agency’s attempt to proceed with a claim in the auto supplier’s bankruptcy case arising out of purported violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Bankruptcy Law360 reported on Friday. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain signed off on the pact on Thursday, which is part of a larger ERISA stipulation agreement tentatively reached by Delphi and various parties a few months ago. The claims involved potential ERISA infractions connected to the ASEC Manufacturing Savings Plan, the plan’s investment in Delphi common stock and Delphi’s restatement of certain of its financial statements in 2005. The Labor Department’s request triggered an objection from Delphi, which argued that the claims were both untimely and insufficiently documented in addition to other complaints. As part of the agreement, Delphi has cleared the way for the DOL’s claim in the amount of $28,000 to move forward, with the claim to be treated as a general unsecured claim against the estate of ASEC.

Hoop Holdings, a unit of Children’s Place Retail Stores Inc. and the operator of Disney Store North America, said late yesterday that it filed for chapter 11 protection, MarketWatch.com reported yesterday. Children’s Place, the Secaucus, N.J., retailer of apparel and accessories for kids, said it isn’t part of the chapter 11 petition, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Children’s Place said that it was in advanced negotiations to sell a substantial part of the Disney Store business to Walt Disney Co. Hoop designs, contracts to produce, and sells merchandise under the Disney Store brand name via a license from Walt Disney. To facilitate its chapter 11 efforts and ultimately wind down its business, Hoop said it has received $35 million of debtor-in-possession financing from Wells Fargo.
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Power equipment manufacturer Powermate Corp. has filed for chapter 11 protection and announced plans to close its Kearney plant, eliminating about 200 jobs, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Powermate said in its U.S. bankruptcy court filing Monday that it owes between $50 million and $100 million to creditors, most of which are suppliers. The company, which has plants in Kearney, Neb., and Springfield, Minn., manufactures portable generators, air compressors and pressure washers. Powermate owes more than $4 million to Chicago-based engine maker Robin America Inc., which is the largest unsecured debt Powermate owes.

Miami businessman Edward Okun, who once owned fleets of planes, boats and automobiles, was arrested yesterday on federal charges that he defrauded hundreds of investors in his tax-shelter scheme out of $132 million, the Miami Herald reported today. Okun was indicted on one count each of mail fraud, bulk cash smuggling and making false statements. The grand jury said that Okun used his 1031 Tax Group to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars from clients engaged in real estate transactions. The company was in the business of holding transaction funds as a neutral third party, a so-called ”qualified intermediary,” and allowing investors to legally defer taxes. The company is now in bankruptcy in New York, and many of Okun’s possessions have been sold.

A federal appeals court overturned the insider-trading conviction of Joseph Nacchio, the former CEO of Qwest Communications International Inc., citing a judge’s error for excluding an expert defense witness, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The 2-1 decision from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver called federal judge Edward Nottingham “wrong” to prevent the expert testimony of key defense witness, Daniel Fischel, a private consultant and former dean of the law school of the University of Chicago. Fischel’s testimony as an expert “might have changed the jury’s mind,” said the ruling, and the court ordered a new judge for the trial. The decision is something of a setback for the government’s crackdown on corporate misdeeds that began earlier this decade. However, legal experts cautioned that the ruling wasn’t a complete win for the defense, as Nacchio could be tried again for the same grounds. The appellate ruling spelled out that there appeared to be sufficient evidence to try Nacchio again.

Northwest Airlines Corp. filed two additional adversary complaints in a New York bankruptcy court to prevent purported class action plaintiffs from pursuing price-fixing claims regarding fuel surcharges, Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday. Northwest claimed that the suits would interfere with the airline’s reorganization in violation of terms of the court-approved plan. The complaints relate to two antitrust class actions filed in November in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging that Northwest and its affiliated airlines fixed fuel surcharge prices for trans-Pacific flights to and from the United States beginning in 2004. Northwest’s complaints say that its reorganization terms are binding on all creditors. The company’s reorganization plan became effective on May 31, 2007.