Dana benefit, labor plans to go to trial March 12

12/28/2006

The judge overseeing Dana Corp. s bankruptcy case set a March 12 trial date to consider the Toledo auto-parts supplier s plans to end retiree health benefits and to alter labor contracts.

The decision of Judge Burton Lifl and of U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York City follows a contentious Dec. 19 hearing in which labor unions and retirees said the company was trying to pressure them to make concessions by setting an aggressive schedule to evaluate proposals.

The firm has until Jan. 29 to tell labor unions and a retirees committee the names of witnesses expected to testify on Dana s behalf. The retirees and unions have until Feb. 9 to name their list of witnesses. The company initially wanted hearings

to start in January.

Dana, which has embarked on a massive restructuring program that includes closing plants, filed bankruptcy in New York last March.