Lear Corp. moved Wednesday to shore up its finances by securing $800 million in loans, suspending its stock dividend and forming a European joint venture with New York financier Wilbur Ross. The moves will allow Lear, a major employer in Metro Detroit, to cover a portion of $700 million in debt that matures in early 2007 and free up operating cash. But should Lear decide to take the bankruptcy route, it could sell its U.S. interior division while freeing the unit of existing creditors, said Laura Bartell, a law professor who teaches bankruptcy at Wayne State University. \"Bankruptcy becomes a very favorable way of selling a part of a company because you can strip them of any claims and that\'s much more valuable to sell,\" Bartell said.