WILMINGTON, Del. – A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday agreed to give Washington Mutual Inc. more time to try to nail down an agreement that would resolve shareholders’ long-standing objections to the bank holding company’s proposed reorganization plan.

Judge Mary Walrath postponed a scheduled June 29 hearing to begin considering the company’s existing reorganization plan so it can continue working to finalize a revised plan that would satisfy shareholders. The new hearing date is July 5.

Washington Mutual Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in 2008 after its collapse, the largest bank failure in U.S. history. The federal government seized WMI’s flagship bank, based in Seattle, and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion.

Washington Mutual’s current reorganization plan is based on a legal settlement of lawsuits pitting WMI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and JPMorgan against one another.

Walrath ruled that the proposed settlement was fair and reasonable, but WMI shareholders have challenged that ruling in federal district court.

 

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