Chrysler is in court Friday for bankruptcy hearing

NEW YORK — Attorneys packed a downtown Manhattan courtroom Friday morning for Chrysler’s first hearing that may signal whether a quick, “surgical” bankruptcy will be possible for the automaker.

The nation’s third-largest automaker filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday with an ambitious plan to emerge in as little as 30 days as a leaner company.

In the early morning hours before the hearing began, attorneys lined up outside the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York under overcast skies with coffee and rain gear in tow of hopes of securing a spot.

The large, windowless courtroom filed up quickly and two overflow rooms with video and audio feeds were opened up to accommodate the crowds.

Bankruptcy Court Judge Arthur Gonzalez convened the hearing shortly after 10 a.m. and approved Chrysler’s motion to allow the automaker to pay its employees and contract workers pre-bankruptcy wages, benefits and businesses expenses.

The hearing was briefly halted after a woman standing in the warm and stuffy courtroom apparently fainted.

Eventually, Gonzalez will have to reach a decision on creditors that hold $6.9 billion of Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler’s debt. Banks holding 70 percent of the debt agreed this week to a deal, but some hedge funds balked, saying it was unfair.