US judge won’t reinstate Yukos bankruptcy case News
US judge won’t reinstate Yukos bankruptcy case

[JURIST] US Bankruptcy Judge Letitia Clark ruled Thursday that she will not reinstate Russian oil company Yukos' [official website] bankruptcy filing, which she dismissed last week for lack of jurisdiction [JURIST report; opinion text] in the United States. Late last week, Yukos filed a motion asking Judge Clark to reconsider her analysis [Yukos press release; JURIST report] of Section 1112(b) of the US bankruptcy code, saying there was substantial evidence that the dismissal was not in the best interest of the estate. Judge Clark said that she sympathized with Yukos and its shareholders' concerns over lack of asset protection in Russia, but nonetheless dismissed the motion. AP has more. Yukos maintains a special website for its bankruptcy case.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.