WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--A group of Indiana pension funds opposed to Chrysler LLC's sale to Fiat SpA (FIATY) on Saturday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the sale while they continue their attempts to block it.
The emergency stay request, filed shortly before midnight Saturday, came after the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York approved the acquisition of most of Chrysler's assets by a group led by Fiat, the Italian auto manufacturer. A U.S. bankruptcy judge early last week approved the sale.
The stay request asks for the extension of a temporary hold on the sale put in place by the appeals court until Monday at 4 p.m. EDT or when the high court decides whether to intervene.
"Absent a stay, the court will be deprived of the opportunity to decide critical, nationally significant legal issues relating to management of the economy by the United States government," the pension funds said in the stay application.
Emergency stays are rarely granted by the Supreme Court. Were it to be approved, however, the Chrysler deal with Fiat could be delayed for weeks or months while the issue is pending at the high court because a stay extension would buy time for the pensions to lodge a formal appeal at the high court.
Under Supreme Court practices, individual justices field emergency motions and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will handle the filing. She could rule herself or refer the motion to the entire court. Ginsburg can also reject the appeal outright or request other parties involved in the case file briefs on a tight schedule.
The Indiana pension funds have argued the sale is unconstitutional because it puts the rights of junior creditors ahead of the rights of senior lenders. The funds also argue the U.S. Treasury Department has overstepped authority given to it by Congress under the Troubled Asset Relief Program by financing Chrysler's restructuring.
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