Motion to Withdraw the Reference. On May 3, 1996, the Tort Committee filed with the District Court its Motion for Withdrawal of Reference with Respect to Proceedings Involving Estimation or Liquidation of Tort Claims and Related Proceedings (the "WITHDRAWAL MOTION"). Pursuant to the jurisdictional provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and the related provisions of the United States Code, jurisdiction of bankruptcy matters is given to the district courts, which are in turn authorized to "refer" that authority to the bankruptcy courts. Those statutes further provide that a district court, for "cause shown," may withdraw the reference of that authority as to a specific matter or of the case in its entirety. The Withdrawal Motion asserted that the interrelationship of the claims estimation and liquidation processes, in light of the jurisdictional limitation of the Court's power to conduct trials to liquidate personal injury claims, militated in favor of withdrawing the reference as to the claims estimation matters, which matters were set for hearing on May 16, 1996. The Withdrawal Motion was withdrawn prior to hearing after the Tort Committee failed to obtain a stay of the commencement of the estimation and related hearings pending a hearing of the Withdrawal Motion by the District Court. On August 19, 1997, the Tort Committee moved in the District Court to transfer to that court all matters relating to valuing and liquidating tort claims, including the matters relating to the plan process (the "NEW WITHDRAWAL MOTION"). The New Withdrawal Motion was argued in September 1997, and has not yet been decided by the District Court. K. MDL REGISTRATIONS AS PROOFS OF CLAIM. On June 20, 1996, the Tort Committee filed its Motion Requesting "Jury View" of the MDL Claims Facility in Connection With Proceedings by Dow Corning Corporation to Establish a Bar Date and Bankruptcy Claims Facility (the "CLAIMS MOTION"), seeking, among other things, to have the Court declare that the registrations filed with the claims administrator for the MDL 926 Court were sufficient to qualify as "claims" in the Case, thus obviating the need for certain of the Personal Injury Claimants to file proofs of claim in the Case. By its opinion dated July 16, 1996, the Court determined that the MDL registrations, having been filed nearly two years prior to the Petition Date, and further having in many cases not designated a responsible manufacturer against which a claim was made, were insufficient to constitute a proof of claim in the Ca...
Motion to Withdraw the Reference. Within seven (7) days of the entry of the Preliminary Approval Order by the Bankruptcy Court, the Parties agree to file a joint motion to withdraw the reference in the District Court, so that the District Court may schedule and conduct the Final Approval Hearing. The District Court shall grant the motion to withdraw the reference to consider and approve the Settlement in accordance with Rule 23(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
