GM Excused From $450M Retirees Payment

General Motors LLC dodged a $450 million bullet when a federal appeals court excused the automaker from funding retiree medical benefits for former Delphi Corp. workers (Auto Workers v. Gen. Motors, LLC, 2015 BL 148450, 6th Cir., 14-1019, unpublished 5/14/15).

The court explained May 14 that a 2009 agreement between GM and the autoworkers’ union—executed in connection with the company’s bankruptcy—made no mention of the $450 million obligation established by earlier agreements between the parties.

In so ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that while GM’s retiree benefit obligation survived the company’s bankruptcy, ...