CMDL Corp., Sarasota, Fla., formerly known as Comdial Corp., petitioned a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to terminate its pension obligations to approximately 1,150 of its former employees. CMDL filed a motion Jan. 3 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to terminate the Comdial plan as of May 10, saying that the company meets financial requirements for a "distress termination" of its pension debt.
Comdial, which was purchased by Vertical Communications in September 2005, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection May 26. Comdial froze its pension plan in September 2000, according to the court filing. The Comdial fund had a deficit of nearly $10 million, according to a Dec. 31, 2004, plan audit. The plan had approximately $20 million in assets as of June 30, 2005.
