Armstrong Wins 10th Exclusivity Extension

Lancaster, PA, September 27, 2005 -- A judge on Monday, Sept. 26, extended Armstrong World Industries Inc.'s exclusive control of its bankruptcy case, giving the flooring maker time to pursue its appeal of a Pennsylvania district court's rejection of its reorganization plan, according to the deal.com The wWebsite said that Armstrong's exit from bankruptcy has been delayed indefinitely, pending a final decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia on parts of its reorganization proposal. The company's plan was confirmed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on December 19, 2003. But Judge Eduardo C. Robreno in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia rejected the plan in February. In his ruling, Robreno said that a provision in the plan giving warrants to equity holders violates the strict priority rule of bankruptcy. For asbestos-related cases filed in Wilmington, a U.S. District Court shares jurisdiction. So Robreno also had to sign off on Armstrong's plan for it to be confirmed. Armstrong has asked the Third Circuit to overturn Robreno's rejection. No oral arguments have been scheduled. If its appeal is unsuccessful, Armstrong said in court papers, it would seek to confirm an alternative reorganization plan. No objections were filed to the exclusivity request. At a hearing Monday, visiting Judge Judith K. Fitzgerald in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington approved Armstrong's motion to extend its exclusivity until March 6. Armstrong has already received nine extensions. Armstrong filed for Chapter 11 protection on Dec. 6, 2000, listing assets of $4 billion and debts of $3.3 billion.