US court dismisses as moot Chrysler sale challenge

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday that it ordered dismissed as moot a legal challenge by three Indiana pension funds to the government-backed sale of the bankrupt automaker Chrysler LLC to a group led by Italian carmaker Fiat SpA. The sale closed on June 10, a day after the Supreme Court rejected an emergency request from the pension funds to put the deal on hold while they challenged it as an unlawful reorganization plan. The legal issue at the heart of the case involved the power of a bankruptcy court to allow a failing company to quickly sell its assets without going through a reorganization process that protects creditors. (Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by John Wallace)