Down to Their Last Billion?

In a cramped and crowded Dallas courtroom last week, Federal District Judge Harold Barefoot Sanders Jr. listened patiently as volleys of charges and countercharges flew between lawyers for the Placid Oil Co. and its creditor banks. On the surface, the squabble over corporate bankruptcy seemed mundane. In fact, the rancorous debate was anything but routine. For Placid is not just any oil company. It is the crown jewel of the financial empire built by the legendary Texan H.L. Hunt and ruled today by his beleaguered sons and heirs. Behind the legal posturing was nothing less than a desperate struggle to save...