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Two US Trustee's Objections: to SCO's October Incentive Bonuses & to Confidentiality |
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Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 12:42 AM EDT
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Hello! The US Trustee's Office has filed not one but two objections, an objection to the October incentive bonuses and a limited objection to the SCO request for a closed hearing about it:
398 -
Filed & Entered: 03/14/2008
Objection
Docket Text: Objection to Debtors' Motion for a Determination that Incentive Bonuses for Quarter Ending October 31, 2007 were Paid in the Ordinary Course of Debtors' Business and for Continuing Authority to Pay Ordinary Course of Business Incentive Bonuses (related document(s)[344] ) Filed by United States Trustee (Attachments: # (1) Exhibit A -- Wage Motion # (2) Exhibit B -- Wage Order # (3) Exhibit C -- Excerpt of 9/18/07 Transcript # (4) Certificate of Service) (McMahon Jr., Joseph)
399 -
Filed & Entered: 03/14/2008
Objection
Docket Text: Limited Objection to Debtors' Motion to Present Evidence and Testimony Related to the Debtors' 2007 Incentive Program Under Seal (related document(s)[345] ) Filed by United States Trustee (Attachments: # (1) Certificate of Service) (McMahon Jr., Joseph) "11 U.S.C. Section 107 codifies the strong, compelling presumption of open access to judicial records and proceedings in civil matters," the US Trustee tells the court. There are some exceptions to that in a bankruptcy, but SCO doesn't fit into them, because SCO is a public company, and the SEC requires a public company to reveal the names of any insiders' compensation, so "the Debtors' argument lacks merit." So, you don't want to miss the hearing on this, for sure.
Update: We seem to have another case of redaction that isn't altogether effective, so I've pulled the first PDF, #398, but we have the redacted document as text now, and frankly you can figure out the redaction from what's left. I'll put it back up if it turns out to be OK to do so. If someone could do a PDF with proper redaction, that'd be great.
Update 2: The low-tech way to fix it if one had the original would be to scan and file as an image. But there are other ways.
Judge David Nuffer in Utah's blog includes unofficial info for attorneys on how to do it. Here's a page he references on how to redact in Adobe 8, and there is a free trial offered here. And Adobe has a technical paper [PDF] that explains the why of it, why redaction sometimes fails in Word documents to PDF. In the past, we've cut out the redacted parts or covered them with paper fitting the redacted parts and then scanned and reconstructed the PDF. It's harder if you try to do it after the fact, of course.
As for the objection to the bonuses as being paid in the ordinary course, I think you'll notice that the US Trustee's Office has been reading what SCO has been filing, and the Office's representative assigned to this bankruptcy, Joe McMahon, has been paying attention and noticing what isn't matching up. I discern some real indignation in the tone. SCO, he states, didn't indicate this was an ongoing money trough. Rather, the Incentive Plan's payments were understood to be prepetition, not postpetition. Here's my favorite part, from page 4 of the PDF: Third the Debtors expressly indicate that payments under the Incentive Plan were conditioned upon achievement of the Performance Metrics. Finally, the Debtors specifically identify one of the metrics as being a "net income" objective. I believe my sense of humor comes from the understatement you find in the law. Do not those simple words tell you everything? And for us longtime onlookers, doesn't it make you smile? The sheer lunacy of giving the executives bonuses after they ran the company into bankruptcy is not lost on Mr. McMahon. According to the plan, bonuses are supposed to be contingent on meeting a "net income" goal. Did they? Probably our favorite parts would the parts blacked out on page 5, if we could read them, that begin, "The Office of the United States Trustee learned that ...."[REDACTED]. But I note, and if I were SCO, I'd find this my least favorite part, that section ends, "At no time between the U.S. Trustee's aforementioned contact of the Debtors and the filing of the Motion did the Debtors communicate to the Office of the U.S. Trustee their belief that the fourth quarter bonus payments were authorized under the Wage Order." I think we may now presume that the US Trustee's Office has come to understand with whom they are dealing. Note paragraph 15:
15. The Debtors take the untenable position that this Court approved post-petition implementation of the Incentive Plan and the fourth quarter bonus payments. The Debtors never sought authority to implement the Incentive Plan post-petition, and this Court neither considered nor granted such authority; as described previously, the Debtors failed to include in the text of the Wage Motion a request for going-forward authority to implement the Incentive Plan. There is absolutely no support in the Wage Motion, the Wage Order, and/or the transcript of the "first day" hearing for the Debtors' thirteenth-hour attempt to find cover for their unauthorized, out-of-the-ordinary-course, post-petition bonus payments. I'll translate from the understated legalese. I believe the man is saying that SCO is trying to pull a fast one. Good. Maybe the judge will now begin to realize also with whom he is dealing. If you recall, at the last hearing, he said SCO seemed to be making a good faith effort. Now what will he think? He'll be reading in the next paragraph where the document speaks of the "tangled web they have created for themselves." Do tell! Testify! The next page is blacked out almost completely. What comes through is the tone. He has SCO's number, at last, I see. Remember when Judge Gross at the last hearing said he relied greatly on the US Trustee's Office? I hope he means it, because McMahon tells the Court that SCO incorrectly claimed that the Court approved post-petition implementation of the Incentive Plan, and that they have "placed themselves in violation of the Wage Order." They should have asked the court's permission to make the bonus payments, and since they didn't, the payments "are unauthorized post-petition transfers" and SCO's motion should be denied. Further, no post-petition Incentive Plan payments should be authorized going forward.
There are lots more filings since we last looked, but nothing one tenth as interesting as this, and I didn't want you to have to wait for the rest to be ready. Enjoy.
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UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
In re
THE SCO GROUP, INC., et al.,
Debtors
Chapter 11
Case Number 07-11337 (KG)
(Jointly Administered)
Hearing Date: April 2, 2008 at 2:00 P.M.
OBJECTION OF THE UNITED STATES TRUSTEE TO THE DEBTORS' MOTION
FOR A DETERMINATION THAT INCENTIVE BONUSES FOR QUARTER ENDING
OCTOBER 31, 2007 WERE PAID IN THE ORDINARY COURSE OF DEBTORS'
BUSINESS AND FOR CONTINUING AUTHORITY TO PAY ORDINARY COURSE OF
BUSINESS INCENTIVE BONUSES
(DOCKET ENTRY # 344)
In support of her objection to the Debtors' motion for a determination that incentive bonuses
for the quarter ending October 31, 2007 were paid in the ordinary course of the Debtors' business
and for continuing authority to pay ordinary course of business incentive bonuses (the "Motion"),
Kelly Beaudin Stapleton, United States Trustee for Region 3 ("U.S. Trustee"), by and through her
counsel, avers:
INTRODUCTION
1. Under (i) (an) applicable order(s) of the United States District Court for the District
of Delaware issued pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) and (ii) 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(A), this Court has
jurisdiction to hear and determine the Motion.
2. Under 28 U.S.C. § 586, the U.S. Trustee has an overarching responsibility to enforce
the laws as written by Congress and interpreted by the courts. See United States Trustee v.
Columbia Gas Sys., Inc. (In re Columbia Gas Sys., Inc.), 33 F.3d 294, 295-96 (3d Cir. 1994) (noting
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that U.S. Trustee has "public interest standing" under 11 U.S.C. § 307 which goes beyond mere
pecuniary interest); Morgenstern v. Revco D.S., Inc. (In re Revco D.S., Inc.), 898 F.2d 498, 500 (6th
Cir. 1990) (describing the U.S. Trustee as a "watchdog").
3. Under 11 U.S.C. § 307, the U.S. Trustee has standing to be heard on the Motion and
the issues raised in this objection.
GROUNDS/BASES FOR RELIEF
A. BACKGROUND
4. On August 6, 2007, the Debtors filed a motion titled "Debtors' Motion for an Order
(I) Authorizing the Debtors to (A) Pay Prepetition Wages, Salaries, Commissions, Employee
Benefits and Other Compensation; (B) Remit Withholding Obligations; (C) Maintain Employee
Benefits Programs and Pay Related Administrative Obligations; and (II) Authorizing Applicable
Banks and Other Financial Institutions to Receive, Process, Honor and Pay Certain Checks
Presented for Payment and to Honor Certain Fund Transfer Requests" (Docket Entry # 8) (the
"Wage Motion"). A copy of the Wage Motion is attached as Exhibit A.
5. In paragraph 12 of the Wage Motion, the Debtors described the relief requested:
To minimize the personal hardship the Employees may suffer if
prepetition employee-related obligations are not paid when due or
honored as expected, and to maintain the morale of Employees during
this critical time, the Debtors seek authority, in their discretion, to
pay and/or honor, as the case may be: (i) certain prepetition claims
for, among other items, wages, salaries, commissions, incentive
bonus programs, and other compensation (collectively, the
"Employee Wages"), as well as (ii) vacation, paid time off, fixed
holidays, medical benefits, contributions to employee benefit plans
and all other employee benefits (collectively, "Employee Benefits")
that the Debtors historically have paid in the ordinary course of their
business; (ii) to reimburse certain reimbursable unpaid employee
Reimbursement Obligations (defined below), and (iv) [sic] all costs
incident to the foregoing (collectively, and as more fully described
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below, the "Employee Wages and Benefits"). The Employee Wages and Benefits for which this relief is sought are set forth in detail
below.
To summarize, in paragraph 12 of the Wage Motion, the Debtors divided the relief requested into
two categories wages and benefits with prepetition claims for incentive plans falling into the
"wages" category.
6. In paragraph 13 of the Motion, the Debtors addressed their request to pay prepetition
incentive plan payments:
The Debtors' salaried U.S. Employees have been paid their salaries
current through September 13, 2007. However, neither the U.S. nor
Foreign Employees have been paid pre-petition quarterly bonuses
totaling $30,000 under an incentive plan for eligible officers, vice
presidents, corporate employees, and senior and key managers for the
period of November 1, 2006 through October 31, 2007 (the
"Incentive Plan"). The Incentive Plan provided eligible Employees
with bonuses to the extent that certain revenue and net operating
income as well as personal performance objectives were met (the
"Performance Metrics"). An eligible Employee was eligible to
receive a certain percentage of his or her salary as an incentive bonus
ranging from 4% up to 70% (4% employee, 8% manager, 12%
director, 20% VP, 40% SVP and 70% CEO) with the revenue
objective accounting for 40%, the net income objective accounting
for 40% and the personal objective for 20% of the eligible incentive
bonus) if the Employee achieved or exceeded the Performance
Metrics established under the Plan (the "Incentive Bonus"). The
potential Incentive Bonus is typically paid 45 days after the end each
[sic] quarter (if achieving the Performance Metrics). During the
quarter ending July 31, 2007 the Debtors' [sic] achieved the required
Performance Metrics established pursuant to the Incentive Plan.
The Debtors make several noteworthy statements in paragraph 13. First, the Debtors' references to
the Incentive Plan are made with use of a verb in the past tense. Second, unlike the part of the
Wage Motion discussing the Debtors' request to pay severance benefits, the Debtors do not
specifically indicate in paragraph 13 that they are seeking court authority to continue the Incentive
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Plan: post-petition. Mot. paragraph 28 ("The Debtors seek authority to continue the Severance Plan
postpetition and to pay any outstanding prepetition severance claims of former employees."). Third,
the Debtors expressly indicate that payments under the Incentive Plan were conditioned upon
achievement of the Performance Metrics. Finally, the Debtors specifically identify one of the
metrics as being a "net income" objective.
7. In paragraph 35(b) of the Wage Motion, the Debtors sought authority to "continue,
in its [sic] sole discretion, on a postpetition basis," the following:
- the Medical and Insurance Benefits and the Workers'
Compensation Policy described herein as such programs
were in effect immediately prior to the Petition Date;
- the 401(k) Plan;
- the PTO policy, except that the Debtors do not seek authority
to pay any pre or postpetition
PTO claims; and
- the Debtors [sic] other benefit programs as described in this
Motion. (Emphasis added).
8. In the "Authority" section of the Wage Motion (¶¶ 36 - 44), the Debtors do not
discuss the Incentive Plan or the Incentive Bonuses.
9. Prior to the "first day" hearing in the above-captioned cases, undersigned counsel
communicated with counsel to the Debtors and obtained three concessions with regard to the Wage
Motion: first, all wage and benefit payments would be capped at the $10,950 figure referenced in
11 U.S.C. §§ 507(a)(4, 5); second, the Debtors' request to pay $30,000 in pre-petition Incentive
Bonuses was put out on notice; and third, the Debtors confirmed on the record at the hearing that
no retention or severance authority was being approved under the Wage Motion. Accordingly,
during or shortly after the "first day" hearing on September 18, 2007, this Court entered an order
approving the Wage Motion (Docket Entry # 27) (the "Wage Order"). A copy of the Wage Order
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is attached as Exhibit B. A copy of the relevant portion of the September 18, 2007 hearing is
attached as Exhibit C; the full transcript is available at Docket Entry # 59.
10. The Wage Order does not authorize the Debtors to implement the Incentive Plan
post-petition.
11. On October 18, 2007, the Office of the U.S. Trustee conducted the meeting of
creditors under 11 U.S.C. § 341(a). At the meeting of creditors, undersigned counsel requested that,
going forward, the Debtors provide notice of any bonus payments which the Debtors asserted were
made in the ordinary course of business so that the Office of the U.S. Trustee could determine
whether it agreed with the Debtors' position.
12. On December 28, 2007, undersigned counsel received an electronic mail
communication from Debtors' counsel (James O'Neill, Esquire) attaching data which detailed the
post-petition allocation of ordinary course quarterly bonus payments for the fourth quarter of fiscal
year 2007. Undersigned counsel subsequently asked Debtors' counsel to forward the performance
metrics for the fourth quarter bonuses so that his office could review same.
13. By electronic mail communication dated January 17, 2008, Debtors' counsel (Grace
Robson, Esquire) forwarded information describing the performance metrics. The Office of the
United States Trustee learned that [REDACTED]
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[REDACTED].
14. In response to this discovery, the Office of the United States Trustee contacted
Debtors' counsel and gave the Debtors a choice: they could file their own motion seeking retroactive
approval of the fourth quarter bonus payments (with the Office of the U.S. Trustee's rights to object
to the requested relief being fully reserved) or they could respond to a filing by the U.S. Trustee
addressing the subject. The Debtors chose the former option and filed the Motion. At no time
between the U.S. Trustee's aforementioned contact of the Debtors and the filing of the Motion did
the Debtors communicate to the Office of the U.S. Trustee their belief that the fourth quarter bonus
payments were authorized under the Wage Order.
B. ANALYSIS
15. The Debtors take the untenable position that this Court approved post-petition
implementation of the Incentive Plan and the fourth quarter bonus payments. The Debtors never
sought authority to implement the Incentive Plan post-petition, and this Court neither considered nor
granted such authority; as described previously, the Debtors failed to include in the text of the Wage
Motion a request for going-forward authority to implement the Incentive Plan. There is absolutely
no support in the Wage Motion, the Wage Order, and/or the transcript of the "first day" hearing for
the Debtors' thirteenth-hour attempt to find cover for their unauthorized, out-of-the-ordinary-course,
post-petition bonus payments.
16. Ironically, the Debtors' contention that this Court authorized the Incentive Plan
under the Wage Order extends the tangled web they have created for themselves. The Debtors did
not attach a copy of the Incentive Plan to the Wage Motion. Further, the Debtors did not seek
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[REDACTED] Finally, the Debtors
described part of the Performance Metrics as being [REDACTED]. Accordingly,
although the Debtors are incorrect in asserting that the Court approved post-petition implementation
of the Incentive Plan via the Wage Order, even if they were correct, this Court did not [REDACTED]. In short, the Debtors have
placed themselves in violation of the Wage Order.
17. The Debtors' [REDACTED] rendered the fourth quarter
bonus payments transfers outside of the ordinary course of their business. While the Debtors
correctly cite to In re Roth American, Inc., 975 F.2d 949 (3d Cir. 1992) for the appropriate standard
to determine whether a particular transaction is an "ordinary course" transaction, the Debtors have
not satisfied the standard. First, with respect to the "horizontal dimension" test (whether the
transaction is of the sort commonly undertaken in the Debtors' business), the Debtors do not
demonstrate [REDACTED]. Additionally, with respect to the "vertical dimension" test (whether the
transaction subjects a creditor to an economic risk of a nature which he accepted when he decided
to extend credit), there is nothing in the Motion which suggests that, in implementing their incentive
plans, the Debtors ever
[REDACTED]
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[REDACTED]
18. Given that the bonus payments were made outside of the ordinary course of the
Debtors' business, under the Bankruptcy Code the Debtors were obligated to seek approval of this
Court before making those payments. See 11 U.S.C. § 363(b)(1).1 The Debtors failed to obtain such
approval. Accordingly, the bonus payments are unauthorized post-petition transfers, and the Motion
should be denied. Further, given the Debtors' failure to obtain this Court's approval prior to making
the fourth quarter 2007 bonus payments, this Court should not authorize the Debtors to make
Incentive Plan payments for subsequent periods.
[Continued on next page -- space intentionally left blank]
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CONCLUSION
WHEREFORE the U.S. Trustee requests that this Court issue an order denying the Motion.
Respectfully submitted,
KELLY BEAUDIN STAPLETON UNITED STATES TRUSTEE
BY: /s/ Joseph J. McMahon, Jr.
Joseph J. McMahon, Jr., Esquire (# 4819)
Trial Attorney
United States Department of Justice
Office of the United States Trustee
[address, phone, fax]
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1
If the Debtors had sought prior approval to make the bonus payments, such approval would have been denied
by this Court. [REDACTED] Additionally, for the reasons stated in this objection, the payments were not
justified under the facts and circumstances of these cases and, accordingly, the Debtors were prohibited from making
the payments under 11 U.S.C. § 503(c)(3).
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Authored by: Rastakins on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 12:53 AM EDT |
And fon't forget the clickies.
My first![ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Rastakins on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 12:56 AM EDT |
Summary in title block, mmm kay? [ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Rastakins on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 12:57 AM EDT |
Don't forget to remind us which one you are writing about. [ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 01:02 AM EDT |
The Trustee certainly gets it. It sounds like SCO really messed up big time on
this one. Will they ask for permission to file an overlength reply?[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: lordshipmayhem on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 01:16 AM EDT |
the Debtors specifically identify one of the metrics as being a "net
income" objective.
Seeing as the total net income is a negative
number, does that mean the bonuses should be a negative number - in other words,
that Darl and his merry band of mental misfits should be paying for the
privilege of working at SCOX?[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 01:17 AM EDT |
Is it that the judge has to realise (in these types of hearings) what he is
dealing with or that he has to be told and then agree? If he does realise but
no-one is saying anything about it will he let it run or should he intervene at
the first opportunity?
Tufty
[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: jdg on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 01:57 AM EDT |
What possible reason could they have for having attempted this. They have some
presumption of goodwill going in. Burning that goodwill and alerting the judge
and Trustee to SCO's ways has been wasted on something of modest value and
which, objectively, had very little likelihood of success.
---
SCO is trying to appropriate the "commons"; don't let them [IANAL][ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Steve Martin on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 07:35 AM EDT |
If someone could do a PDF with proper redaction, that'd be
great.
PJ, it's on the way.
--- "When I say
something, I put my name next to it." -- Isaac Jaffe, "Sports Night" [ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 09:17 AM EDT |
4. On August 6, 2007, the Debtors filed a motion titled "Debtors'
Motion for an Order (I) Authorizing the Debtors to (A) Pay Prepetition Wages,
Salaries, Commissions, Employee Benefits and Other Compensation; (B) Remit
Withholding Obligations; (C) Maintain Employee Benefits Programs and Pay Related
Administrative Obligations; and (II) Authorizing Applicable Banks and Other
Financial Institutions to Receive, Process, Honor and Pay Certain Checks
Presented for Payment and to Honor Certain Fund Transfer Requests" (Docket Entry
# 8) (the "Wage Motion"). A copy of the Wage Motion is attached as Exhibit
A.
SCO didn't file for bankruptcy until September 14, 2007.
How could they have filed a motion on August 6, 2007, when they were not yet
debtors in posession? I looked on the BK Timeline page, and SCO actually filed
this motion on October 5, 2007. Hopefully the US Trustee can file an amended
objection, and does so in time for the deadline for objections for this new
motion.[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: snorpus on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 09:42 AM EDT |
It's possible, of course, that the "net income objective" was a negative number.
Net doesn't imply positive, necessarily. If previous year's losses were $25
million, the objective might be to hold this year's losses to "only" $5
million. --- 73/88 de KQ3T ---
Montani Semper Liberi
Comments Licensed: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ [ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 10:00 AM EDT |
I suggest that the answer is pretty simple.
Remind yourself -- WHY and WHEN did SCO declare bankruptcy? They weren't
insolvent, we know that.
The "WHEN" is -- to stop, at the last possible moment, the trial in
Utah on the matter of determining how much MS and SUN dollars belonged to
Novell, and to stop the establishment of the constructive trust.
The "WHY" is that the trial would finally make SCO subject to hostile
cross-examination regarding the true nature of the MS and SUN licensing
arrangements, and that cross-examination would be aimed at teasing out SCO's and
MS's real motivation, their communications, etc.
The BK filing put that trial on hold.
SCO can NOT have that day occur, They will STILL pull a further stunt when the
now-rescheduled day arrives -- mark my words.
So -- why throw money at employees who haven't achieved bonus targets?
Simple. Like the offer to pay York money for York's negotiation expenses, SCO is
trying to throw money away whenever they can, to spend down their accounts to
"zero" and then to turn around and say to Judge Kimball and the BK
judge that there can be no constructive trust, because by tracing rules none of
the original dollars paid by SUN or MS remain in SCO's accounts.
SCO reasons that, if they can accomplish this objective, that they care less
that Judge Kimball will make a judgment that SCO owes Novell $10,15, or 20M.
That will merely be 'debt', and SCO will hope to find a way to hold off on
having to pay the debt until they can get their shot at IBM.
If the IBM shot misses, then SCO just folds up and goes to chapter 7. Novell
never gets a penny, under SCO's scheme.
And it bears repeating that Novell will never get a penny under the new
"$100M" investment plan as proposed, either -- as we discussed in an
earlier thread last week.
LEXLAW[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: DaveJakeman on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 10:32 AM EDT |
So, what kind of tangled web might that be? Silk? Cotton? GPL'd code? No,
there's only one type of tangled web that SCO weave...
---
Monopolistic Ignominious Corporation Requiring Office $tandard Only For
Themselves[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 01:12 PM EDT |
webs, after all, can be things of grace and beauty.
Darl's SCO never has been, by any stretch of the imagination.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: DaveJakeman on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 03:21 PM EDT |
Accordingly, the bonus payments are unauthorized post-petition
transfers, and the Motion should be denied. Further, given the Debtors' failure
to obtain this Court's approval prior to making the fourth quarter 2007 bonus
payments, this Court should not authorize the Debtors to make Incentive Plan
payments for subsequent periods.
What about forcing those payments
to be returned? Too stiff?
--- Monopolistic Ignominious Corporation
Requiring Office $tandard Only For Themselves [ Reply to This | # ]
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- Making Good - Authored by: PJ on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 03:23 PM EDT
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Authored by: bezz on Saturday, March 15 2008 @ 04:59 PM EDT |
I'm not so sure the US Trustee is just now waking up to who they are dealing
with, but this filing suggests the tendency will be for closer scrutiny.
Remember, the US Trustee must play by the rules, just as judges. In BK, it is
in the best interest of all concerned for a company to reorganize, become
solvent and repay as much of its debt as possible. SCO's defiance of what they
told the trustee -- as backed up in the First Day hearing -- was an open
invitation for a strong objection.
I would not be surprised if the US Trustee's office has known who they are
dealing with since the York Fire Sale. Novell, as the creditor who shows up in
court for each hearing, was the appropriate party to object.
One other area of concern is the lack of a creditors' committee. The US Trustee
appoints the creditors' committee and it typically consists of the seven
largest unssecured creditors. But the bar date for claims is set BEFORE any
resolution in Utah will be available. Novell did not object, so I am not sure
if that was a mistake or they plan to act in a capacity outside the committee.
Who knows, it may be in Novell's interest -- with respect to whom the US Trustee
and court listen -- to act outside the committee when the First Day filings list
the top seven as:
Amici
BSF
Canopy
GRE Mountain Heights Property
Microsoft Licensing
Sun
Veritas
Once a DIP starts trying to dispose of assets, the scrutiny becomes more
intense. Novell may be better served by speaking on their own to the court and
US Trustee than as one voice amongst some of those seven.[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, March 17 2008 @ 12:23 AM EDT |
It sure sounds to me like the trustee knows with what he is dealing. This
sounds like a dead easy move for him. Yet it must be a tremendous and divisive
distraction for SCO. I bet he wants this matter cleared up efficiently. Perhaps
he is thinking the best way to do this is to keep SCO off balance and avoid
direct engagement.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, March 19 2008 @ 09:31 AM EDT |
Looks like it. Let's hope it's true.
Then, let's hope the judge notices it. Apparently the judge tends to give a
fair amount of attention to the US Trustee's opinion in bankruptcy cases?[ Reply to This | # ]
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Authored by: E-man on Friday, March 21 2008 @ 08:46 PM EDT |
I noticed when reading the transcript for the 341 Creditor's hearing that the
attorney for the US Trustee's Office basically warned SCO not to try getting
away with the 40/40/20 bonuses. Since I don't know if anyone is still reading
this article I posted in the OT section of a newer article. SCO stuff: US Trustee's
objection was forwarned [ Reply to This | # ]
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