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Saab US bankruptcy plan gets legal green-light

It feels utterly bizarre that we're still talking about Saab, but Reuters is reporting that the bankrupt Swedish manufacturer's American arm has gotten approval from the US Bankruptcy Court to liquidate its assets and pay back creditors. As part of the plan, secured creditors like Ally Financial will receive full repayment. Unsecured creditors, consisting of those affected by abandoned leases and contracts will get anywhere from 25 to 82 percent of their money back.
There are currently $77 million in unsecured claims, according to Reuters, but that number doesn't include claims from former Saab dealers. Naturally, the entire affair is full of lawyers and legalese. A trust formed on the Saab side will be negotiating with creditors and their affiliates in an attempt to reduce claims against Saab. This sounds like the start of a long and sordid affair...

Dealership refunds student for broken Saab with bags of pennies

Every so often, we come across the story of someone trying to "stick it to the man" by paying a parking fine or speeding ticket in pennies or dimes. Never, though, have we heard of a business stooping to such cliched lengths. Enter Florida. Irena Mujakovic bought a 2003 Saab way back in January from Holiday Motors, in Jacksonville, FL. Shortly after the purchase, the transmission started acting up. She returned to the dealer and paid for the repair, and purchased a warranty for future issues. Total cost: $300. But then the trans crapped out not long after the initial repair, and Mujakovic was back at Holiday Motors. This is where things start going south. This second trip cost Mujakovic $400, with her warranty in hand. That's because the man that runs the dealer, Ed Di Miranda, neglected to mention that the warranty didn't cover labor costs. "The warranty did not cover labor and I failed to write that in and that was her loophole," Di Miranda told First Coast News. The young college student filed a complaint with the Florida DMV, who sided with her and ordered Holiday Motors to refund the money. Di Miranda and the dealership did just that, but when Mujakovic came to collect her refund, it was to a bag of pennies, with a few dollar bills sprinkled in for good measure. Di Miranda, doesn't seem to think he's done anything wrong, claiming that only about $85 was in change, while the rest was paper money. "I am doing what DMV asked me to do," Di Miranda said. "It is legal tender." Mujakovic has not collected her refund. Have a look below for the video news report. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: First Coast News via Jalopnik Car Buying Government/Legal Car Buying Saab

Spyker files $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors over Saab's demise

"Smack." That's the sound of Spyker's process server dropping a big ol' pile of legal documents on the doorstep of The Renaissance Center, home of General Motors - or wherever GM's attorneys live during business hours. Contained therein is a Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and demanding a jury trial, that seeks $3 billion in damages due to "the unlawful actions GM took to avoid competition with Saab Automobile in the Chinese market." Spyker accuses GM of "tortiously interfering" with Saab's business relationship with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile (Youngman), actions that Spyker CEO Victor Muller (above) said "deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy."
(From Wikipedia: "Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when a person intentionally damages the plaintiff's contractual or other business relationships.")
The interference in question specifically refers to the very last potential deal, called the Framework Agreement, that Spyker worked out with Youngman. With lots of GM engineering embedded into the 9-4X and 9-5, The General had the right to approve any Saab partnership that would involve the transfer of GM intellectual property. Spyker had been rebuffed over every previous deal with a Chinese firm, including two bids by Youngman, due to GM concerns over its IP getting into Chinese hands and having to face Chinese-market competitors using its technology. The Complaint alleges that the Framework Agreement would have put a firewall around all GM IP - Youngman would only work on Saab's Phoenix platform, said to be just about free of GM tech, and would have no access to 9-3, 9-4X or 9-5 technology until after Saab ceased all ties to GM.