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Texas wants Enron bankruptcy moved to Houston

The state of Texas has asked that energy trader Enron Corp.'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy be moved from New York to Houston, where the company is based, so that thousands of laid-off Enron employees can participate in the case.

The state said on Tuesday it would be too expensive for most of the former employees and other creditors to go to New York for the proceedings.

Nearly 5,000 Enron employees in Houston have been fired since the company collapsed amid revelations of financial mismanagement and filed bankruptcy on December 2 in New York.

''These Texas individuals and businesses will largely be disenfranchised from active participation in these bankruptcy cases unless they are transferred to the location (Houston) where such parties reside,'' the state said in a motion filed in US bankruptcy court in New York Tuesday.

Texas Attorney General John Cornyn said in a statement that the state of Texas is among the many creditors owed by Enron, but that the amount of its claims was not yet known. Enron's bankruptcy, with $50 billion in assets and $31 billion in debts, is said to be the largest in US history.

Tuesday's motion followed earlier ones filed by a number of companies, including Dynegy Inc. Seeking to have the case transferred to Houston.

Energy trading rival Dynegy offered $9 billion in stock to take over Enron, then pulled out of the deal, charging that Enron had not met the terms of the merger agreement. The two companies have sued each other.

US bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez is slated to hold a hearing next month to consider whether to move the bankruptcy case to Houston.

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