NEWS UPDATE: Premier Properties to be liquidated

	Friday, May 30, 2008 3:24 PM
	Premier Properties to be liquidated Chip Cutter   IBJ staff A judge reclassified the bankruptcy status of Premier Properties USA today, clearing the way for a U.S. trustee to take hold of the company and begin selling its assets. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Basil H. Lorch III approved a motion to convert the bankrupcty case to Chapter 7 from Chapter 11, ending Premier founder Christopher P. White's hopes of resurrecting the Indianapolis development firm. White had been trying to raise money to save the 15-year-old company, which developed numerous high profile retail projects, including the Metropolis mall in Plainfield. Premier sought bankruptcy protection April 23, listing debts of more than $2.8 million to 20 creditors - not including millions of dollars in unpaid bills related to specific properties. White and his company also face a slew of lawsuits, alleging unpaid bills, defaulted loans and check fraud.
	Today's decision means a trustee now will take control of the company to liquidate any of Premier's remaining assets. That probably isn't much, said Henry Efroymson, an Ice Miller attorney who represents Atlanta-based Dominion Capital Management LLC, a Premier creditor that took control of most of its properties last month. "If there's going to be a distribution to creditors, it's going to be very small," Efroymson said. "There isn't much left ... this was a management company." During the hearing, Efroymson also asked that Dominion Capital be given full access to Premier's records. He said his client had received the "lion's share" of records on Premier's properties, but needed to review the company's computer hard drives to retrieve the rest of the data. Some of those hard drives have been moved to White's home, said William J. Tucker, Premier's bankruptcy attorney. But Tucker said a backup of the files has been made and he said that Premier has not hidden or removed anything. Still, Efroymson said he was concerned, since the trustee won't take control of the files until Monday. "The concern now is there is nobody in place ensuring the data remains on the computers and servers," he said. The decision today also won't provide much relief to Premier's former employees, many of whom have not been paid for at least eight weeks. "I don't see that there's going to be any funds for former employees," Efroymson said.
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Linebarger to replace Loughrey at Cummins

DJIA 12,641.9 -4.3 / S&P 500 1,399.3 +1.0 / NASDAQ 2,519.4 +11.1 Tonight: Storms likely. Low 65. Tomorrow: Warm, small chance of rain. High 80. Sunday: Clear. High 79.
	Friday, May 30, 2008
	Linebarger to replace Loughrey at Cummins Diesel engine maker Cummins Inc. today said Tom Linebarger will become its president and chief operating officer when Joe Loughrey vacates the positions. Loughrey, 58, who is retiring in March 2009, will serve as the company's vice chairman from Aug. 1 until his retirement. Linebarger, 45, currently is president of Cummins Power Generation and has been an executive vice president since 2005. He also has served as Cummins' chief financial officer. Shoe Carnival upgraded despite profit setback A Soleil Securities analyst upgraded the stock of Evansville-based Shoe Carnival Inc. today despite a lackluster earnings report from the company yesterday. Jeffrey Stein, who declined to discuss his reasoning, moved the retailer to "Hold" from "Sell." Shoe Carnival said net profit in its fiscal first quarter ended May 3 plummeted nearly 35 percent, to $4.8 million, from the same period last year.
	Conseco rejects investors' overture Conseco Inc. rejected a proposal by activist investor Steel Partners II LP to acquire up to 22 percent of the company's shares, according to a letter from Conseco CEO Jim Prieur. Prieur told New York-based Steel Partners that allowing it to amass such a large stake would limit Conseco's ability to repurchase its own shares. He said it also could limit the ability of other large shareholders to buy Conseco shares.   Maker of personal care products to expand Canada-based KIK Custom Products plans to spend $7 million to expand its operations in Elkhart and create 190 jobs, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. said yesterday. KIK makes personal care and household products for companies including Gillette, Johnson & Johnson and L'Oreal. The company, which already employs 700 in Elkhart, will begin hiring mechanics, forklift drivers and packers, among other positions, over the next two months. Production is expected to ramp up in late summer. United, US Airways CEOs say no deal for now The CEOs of United Airlines and US Airways formally shelved their effort to create the world's largest airline, telling employees today that a combination won't happen "at this time." Their separate messages came a day after a meeting of United's Glenn Tilton and US Airways' Doug Parker at which United disclosed its decision not to pursue consolidation. Chicago-based United, a unit of UAL Corp., and Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways Group Inc. have been exploring a combination for more than two months - an effort that intensified in April after Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. agreed to pair up.   Freight rail congestion a growing concern While the nation's attention is focused on air travel congestion and the high cost of fuel for highway driving, a crisis is developing under the radar for another form of transportation - the freight trains used to deliver many of the goods that keep the U.S. economy humming. The nation's 140,000-mile network of rails devoted to carrying everything from cars to grain is groaning under the strain of congestion, with trains forced to stand aside for hours because of one-track rail lines. And it's probably going to get worse over the next two decades.   Bigger names at Indiana casinos High-quality acts are turning up regularly at Hoosier casinos. Lou Harry's A&E Local restaurants land at airport Four top-name spots will be in the new airport terminal. Property Lines
	Star sports staff loses third veteran this year Assistant editor Pat McKee is leaving for Florida. The Score From IBJ staff - Compiled by Norm Heikens String of fires under investigation Arson investigators are looking into four early morning fires within a few blocks of each other. The fires began when a car fire destroyed a garage near 10th Street and Chester Avenue. Firefighters responded to three more fires in the same area with a half hour, including two that destroyed garages next to each other. Witnesses say a gold Chevy Monte Carlo sped away from the Chester Avenue blaze. Fox 59 will have more at 10 p.m.
	Funeral planned for Eaton firefighter A volunteer firefighter from Eaton, a community north of Muncie, will be laid to rest today after dying from a heart attack over the weekend. Jay Maddy had responded to a string of 21 local arsons before the heart attack happened. Officials ruled his death as occurring "in the line of duty." Police have arrested two Eaton teen-agers in connection with the fires. The funeral procession will stop by the firehouse for a "last alarm." Baby's heart is repaired A baby boy from Jordan is having his heart repaired at Riley Hospital for Children today. Six-month-old Ahmed Okar was born with a complex heart defect in which one of the heart valves is missing and the pulmonary arteries are enlarged to the point that they compress the airway and esophagus. The Riley Heart team met the Syrian native during their latest medical mission to Amman, Jordan. The Rotary Club's Gift of Life program and Riley Hospital are making the surgery possible.
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