Delphi lawyers argued that as early as November or December of last year, Appaloosa began to tell other investors that the deal to buy shares was 'a poor investment,' and that the hedge fund agreed to the deal to 'obtain substantial commitment fees.' Tepper testified in court in December 2007 that he intended to complete the deal, which Delphi lawyers say amounted to fraud since his intentions may have been the opposite. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in August said Appaloosa may be more exposed to fraud charges than other investors because of Tepper's testimony. Delphi lawyers claimed that the Appaloosa-led group tried to get lenders to withdraw commitments for $6.1 billion in exit financing; money Delphi needed to close the deal. The auto supplier also said that the actions of Appaloosa before the hedge fund withrew from the deal led to short-selling of Delphi shares. Like Appaloosa, two other hedge fund investors -- Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I Ltd. and Pardus Capital Management LP -- created shell companies for the deal. Drain had dismissed some charges against the Harbinger and Pardus parent companies in his earlier ruling, but he refused to do the same with Appaloosa. He affirmed that decision on Thursday, again rejecting Appaloosa's argument that it should not pay more than $250 million, a cap it claims was set in the original contract. Troy, Mich.-based Delphi is the former parts-making unit of General Motors Corp. Out of necessity, GM took a bigger role in the reorganization after the Appaloosa group bowed out. Delphi has been operating under court protection since October 2005. In addition to Harbinger and Pardus, the major investors in the Appaloosa-led group included Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., UBS Securities LLC, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Other investors took more minor roles in the deal.