Michael McManus (California judge)
Michael McManus was a bankruptcy judge for the United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of California. He was appointed on January 11, 1994, and reappointed to a second term on January 11, 2008. McManus was elevated and served as chief judge from November 3, 2000, until September 30, 2008.[1] He retired on January 31, 2019.[2]
Education
McManus earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California and a J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles.[3]
Career
Prior to joining the bench, McManus worked at the private practice law firm of Felderstein, Rosenberg & McManus as a partner. The firm then merged with Diepenbrock, Wulff, Plant & Hannegan, where McManus served as a partner, focusing on bankruptcy-related matters.[1]
Noteworthy cases
City may reject pre-existing collective bargaining agreement (2009)
- See also: United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of California (In re City of Vallejo, California, 08-26813-A-9)
- See also: United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of California (In re City of Vallejo, California, 08-26813-A-9)
McManus, as the National Law Journal reported March 2009, "held the city of Vallejo, Calif., has the authority to void its existing union contracts in its effort to reorganize." This set precedent in California as it holds that public workers do not get the same protections Congress gave union workers at private companies.[4]
McManus held on March 13 that when Congress enacted 11 U.S.C. sec. 1113 to limit companies from rejection of union contracts, it limited it to Chapter 11 bankruptcies. Because it failed to extend the limits to Chapter 9, covering municipal bankruptcy, McManus said cities have broader latitude to break existing union pacts.
The city of Vallejo declared bankruptcy in 2008, blaming spiraling payroll costs and declining revenue. Within weeks, the city asked McManus in Sacramento to void all four contracts with 400 police, firefighters, electricians, maintenance workers, secretaries, clerks, and other city workers.[5]
See also
- United States bankruptcy court, Eastern District of California
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of California: Judge Michael S. McManus Bio
- ↑ United States Courts, "Judicial Milestones," accessed May 12, 2020
- ↑ Judge Profile: Michael S. McManus
- ↑ "Vallejo avoids tough pension fights," Watchdog.org, March 2010
- ↑ "In a First, Bankruptcy Judge Rules Calif. City Can Void Union Contracts," National Law Journal, March 17, 2009
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
