Alabama Judge in historic bankruptcy case works long hours County's case is nation's largest bankruptcy ever filed by government

By Kent Faulk The Birmingham News BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- One of Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett's first acts after being assigned to preside over Jefferson County's bankruptcy case was to warn lawyers on both sides that the case would not be a casual job. They might have to work weekends and the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The nation's largest bankruptcy ever filed by government would likely be their full-time job, he told them. And he meant it. Bennett has been, since Jefferson County filed its $4.23 billion bankruptcy in November, a no-nonsense, by-the-book judge who has shown a detailed understanding of voluminous briefs and a willingness to cut lawyers off mid-sentence. His rulings have come on weekends and after normal business hours. "He (Bennett) understands the importance of timely rulings and having an efficient process," said John Carroll, dean of the Cumberland School of Law and a former U.S. magistrate judge. "He's not the kind of judge who will waste lawyers' time and make them do things that are expensive and unproductive," he said. But the 63-year-old Bennett -- who holds the future of Jefferson County in his hands while continuing to rule in hundreds of new, and more mundane, cases each month -- is more than the stone-faced jurist some perceive him to be. He is a fan of jazz and literature, a judge as likely to reference Harper Lee in his briefs as appeals court rulings. And what he says in this bankruptcy case -- and how he says it -- will likely have a profound impact on future cases of municipal bankruptcy. "No question it will be a leading case in precedents in Chapter 9 (law)," said James Scott Sledge, who served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in north Alabama from 1991 to 2005 and who is now chief judge of the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board. "Up until this case, everyone began their Chapter 9 research by studying Orange County (California bankruptcy) ... From now on they will start by studying Jefferson County." Presiding over such a case isn't something Bennett could have predicted 17 years ago. Back then Bennett was a partner in a West Virginia law firm, having spent about 18 years in commercial and bankruptcy litigation. He said he applied at the last minute for the federal bankruptcy judge's job in Alabama. "I tell people it was the fickle finger of fate .<.<. I didn't think much would come of it," Bennett said in a recent interview. Bennett was born and raised outside Philadelphia. He has three brothers -- one who died -- and a half-sister. The judge's mother, Mary Bennett, was from Fairmont, W.Va -- a town the judge notes also is hometown to University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban. Bennett's father, George Bennett, was an award-winning orthopedist who was dean of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. His father had studied medicine in Germany before World War II but had to leave the country quickly through the sewers. "He came back to his house and the SS was outside his house. He had been helping some Catholic priests smuggle people out of the country and the way they did it was through the sewers in Munich because Munich is across the lake from Switzerland," the judge said. His father was Methodist, the judge said. The judge said one of the biggest influences in his life was Girard College, a Philadelphia boarding school he attended from the time he was nine -- the year after his dad died -- through high school. He graduated valedictorian of the Class of 1966. Bennett ranked first in his class in 1970 when he graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics. He also served for a time as an economics instructor and considered going for his Ph.D. in economics. Sledge pointed to Bennett's background in economics as a big advantage in the Jefferson County bankruptcy. Very few bankruptcy judges are economists, and Sledge said he is not aware of any of them who, like Bennett, have taught economics. That's one of the reasons Sledge and others believe Bennett is the right judge for Jefferson County's case. "I think he's bright. He's scholarly. He's a deep thinker," Carroll said. "I do think he's the ideal person for the Jefferson County case." Bennett wouldn't talk about the Jefferson County case -- to do so would be improper while it is still pending before him. But the judge, who normally gets more than 200 new bankruptcy cases assigned to him each month, admits Jefferson County case did make life a lot busier early on. "Probably from November, when Jefferson County filed, until the second week of January, I worked every weekend. Both days. Long days," Bennett said. Some of his rulings have appeared well after normal business hours. One of his biggest rulings to date in the Jefferson County case -- granting the county's eligibility to file bankruptcy -- first appeared on the online court system on a Sunday night in March. "I reduced my general case load by about 15 percent because of the Jefferson County case and a couple of other things," Bennett said. "Any given case is not what you do full time every day." As of a few years ago, Bennett said, he had accumulated 150,000 to 180,000 rulings during his tenure on the bench. The vast majority of those rulings are oral orders -- which help to speed things along. Outside the court, Bennett's interests include listening to European jazz and gardening with his wife of 33 years, Lisa Bennett. "It gets me outside. It gives me a little bit of exercise," he said. The couple has two daughters, ages 25 and 26. He also likes to read, with one of his favorites being the British writer Simon Winchester, author of books that include "The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology". "He's an easy read with interesting subjects," Bennett said. Writing often is a big part of Bennett's job and sometimes gets a little creative. "A lot of what I have to write about is for most people mundane, boring and dull," Bennett said. "I try to do things on occasion that make it easier to read." For instance, Bennett often drops in historical references or uses clever captions within his written memorandums and orders that help define the sections for different legal arguments or topics. The captions are a device he says he learned in working in the 1970s as a clerk for John R. Brown, former chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Bennett led the opening of his written ruling to declare Jefferson County eligible for bankruptcy with a little known fact about the father of Harper Lee, the Monroeville woman who wrote "To Kill A Mockingbird." "Amasa Coleman Lee, the father of Harper Lee, is famous for being the inspiration behind Atticus Finch in 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' but he should also be remembered for his work in the Alabama Legislature," including a bankruptcy law that specifically authorizes the county to file the bankruptcy, Bennett wrote. Jefferson County's bankruptcy case is the first Chapter 9 case -- reserved only for cities, counties or other government groups -- he has presided over as a judge. But during his private law practice years ago he handled three Chapter 9 cases -- representing the debtors in two municipal utility cases and one as a creditor attorney. Bennett, who calls himself "a Republican of the Nelson Rockefeller vintage" has earned a national reputation in recent years as a bankruptcy judge. He has consulted with members of Congress on proposed amendments to the bankruptcy code for small businesses. He has testified twice -- in 2007 and 2010 -- before a U.S. Senate committee on bankruptcy issues. He also served as president of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges from 2008 to 2009. "I don't view my job as drafting the law. My job is basically to implement the law," Bennett said. "The job is basically to look at the law and apply it to the particular case at hand. .<.<. Sometimes it's more difficult than others and sometimes it requires interpretation." Published: Mon, May 14, 2012