Plan to Pay Lincoln S&L; Units’ Creditors Is OKd : Thrifts: It covers claims against 11 subsidiaries. A settlement of debts owed by the parent American Continental Corp. is expected soon.

A U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix has approved a plan to repay 700 creditors of 11 Lincoln Savings & Loan subsidiaries.

The action on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Bilby clears the way for resolution of bankruptcy filings involving the subsidiaries.

The court action does not affect bondholders of American Continental Corp., Lincoln’s parent company. Bilby will decide Nov. 30 whether to approve American Continental’s bankruptcy plan after a vote by 25,000 creditors--many of them bondholders--who are owed more than $350 million.

About 22,000 bondholders purchased $200 million in American Continental bonds at 29 Lincoln Savings branches in Southern California.

Phoenix financier Charles H. Keating Jr. sought bankruptcy protection for the parent company and the subsidiaries on April 13, 1989--one day before government regulators seized Lincoln.

The S&L; is expected to become one of the nation’s costliest failures, with a taxpayer bill of $2 billion. Its collapse has been linked to risky junk bond investments and real estate projects--many of which were undertaken by the subsidiaries.

Since the government seized it, Lincoln has lost $1.3 billion, most of it attributed to write-downs that regulators contend Lincoln’s owners should have made.

The Lincoln Savings failure has also resulted in numerous criminal investigations and civil lawsuits. Keating is fighting securities fraud charges in Los Angeles stemming from the thrift’s failure.

The subsidiaries involved in Friday’s court action developed some of Lincoln’s better-known projects, including the $296-million luxury Phoenician Resort Hotel, the Crescent Hotel--both located in Arizona--and other residential and commercial developments in the Southwest.

Taken together, the subsidiaries have assets of $1.8 billion. They owe creditors more than $120 million.

Among the creditors are contractors who worked on Lincoln Savings development projects.

The American Continental plan calls for liquidation of the company within two years and payment to creditors of 21 cents for each dollar owed.

If approved, both repayment plans would take effect in two months. At that point, the companies--American Continental and the Lincoln subsidiaries--would be freed from bankruptcy court control.

The subsidiaries’ reimbursement plan calls for an immediate payment of $62 million to creditors from the subsidiaries’ cash reserves. Contested claims represent another $60 million.