Mining Company Defeats Creditors’ Bid to Stop Talc Mine Sale (1)

Barretts Minerals Inc.'s sale of a talc mine and other assets got a bankruptcy judge’s approval despite junior creditors’ and asbestos claimants’ effort to stop the transaction from going through.

Judge Marvin Isgur of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the sale Thursday after hearing emotional testimony from an asbestos claimant. Isgur wanted clarity as to the public interest of authorizing or denying Barretts’ sale of its assets including the talc mine. He said his decision was made with an understanding of what victims have gone through.

The ruling wasn’t a “pure business judgment decision,” ...