Werner Holding Co.’s unsecured creditors struck an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) over the millions it wanted for the ladder maker’s employees’ pensions, with the committee acceding to the claims, but reducing them to nonpriority status, Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday. The PBGC had asserted three claims against Werner’s estates, the first and largest of which was one for $27 million for unfunded benefit liabilities of the company’s employee retirement plan. The committee said that the claim was filed contingent on termination of the pension plan, which was terminated on Oct. 3. The committee had never formally objected to the PBGC’s claims in the bankruptcy, the creditors said Friday, but it and Werner had objected previously to a handful of other claims that had been put forth by other parties as priority. The committee explained that it hoped to avoid litigation of its dispute with the PBGC with its joint proposal of a stipulation and settlement.
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