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| The Chapter 11 Trustee's First Act: Wants to Hire a Lawyer |
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Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:13 AM EDT
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SCO's new Chapter 11 trustee, Edward N. Cahn, would like to hire a law firm, Blank Rome. Well, honestly speaking, wouldn't *you* want a lawyer, if you were chosen to decide what to do next with the SCO Group?
What would their duties include?
a) Collect and reduce to money the property of the estate for which such Trustee serves, and close such estate as expeditiously as is compatible with the best interests of parties in interest;...
d) Investigate the acts, conduct, assets, liabilities, financial condition
and financial affairs of the Debtors, the operation of the Debtors' business
and desirability of the continuance of such business, and any other matter
relevant to the case or to the formulation of a plan;...
j) Assist the Chapter 11 Trustee in the analysis of third party litigation and liquidation of assets in accordance with the Bankruptcy Code and the Local Rules;
k) As soon a practicable, file a statement of any investigation conducted,
including any fact ascertained pertaining to fraud, dishonesty,
incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, or irregularity in the management
of the affairs of the Debtors, or to a cause of action available to the estate; Ahem. The application says that Blank Rome will represent the Chapter 11 trustee and no other entity and provide litigation services to the trustee. Like if he wanted to sue anybody for fraud or dishonesty after the investigation. And of course the firm prepares a plan of reorganization or recommends conversion to Chapter 7 or dismissal of the case.
Here are all the day's filings:
08/31/2009 - 901 - Interim Application for Compensation for Services and Reimbursement of Expenses of Tanner LC, as Accountants to the Debtors, for the Period from August 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009 (Twentieth Interim) Filed by Tanner LC. Objections due by 9/21/2009. (Attachments: # 1 Notice # 2 Exhibit A # 3 Certificate of Service with Service List) (Makowski, Kathleen) (Entered: 08/31/2009)
08/31/2009 - 902 - Application to Employ Blank Rome LLP as Counsel to the Chapter 11 Trustee Filed by Edward N. Cahn, Chapter 11 Trustee for The SCO Group, Inc., et al.. Hearing scheduled for 9/24/2009 at 02:00 PM at US Bankruptcy Court, 824 Market St., 6th Fl., Courtroom #3, Wilmington, Delaware. Objections due by 9/17/2009. (Attachments: # 1 Notice # 2 Exhibit A # 3 Proposed Form of Order # 4 Certificate of Service) (Fatell, Bonnie) (Entered: 08/31/2009)
08/31/2009 - 903 - Certification of Counsel Regarding Omnibus Hearing Dates Filed by Edward N. Cahn, Chapter 11 Trustee for The SCO Group, Inc., et al.. (Fatell, Bonnie) (Entered: 08/31/2009)
Mr. Cahn might take a look at Tanner's bills, for a start. Their 20th bill is in the queue. Then there is that Skyline Cowboy thingie. Hiring detectives to harass people? Any shills hired to smear people? How about that private deal with Boies Schiller they made without asking the bankruptcy court? Um, do reorganization plans, at least one of which the bankruptcy judge said lacked evidence of being real, count? And the bonuses. Let me count the ways. Just dreaming. He's going to be looking for ways to get money into the estate, not restoring moral balance to the universe. So, his question will be, is there any money in it if he pursues anybody about anything? Can the estate sue anybody profitably? Uh oh. I hope he's not from SCO's planet in his thinking on what is a rational lawsuit.
Interestingly, an exhibit attached to the motion lists these potential parties in interest: Cattleback Holdings
IBM
Me, Inc.
Me Software, Inc.
Microsoft
Novell Inc.
Red Hat Inc.
SCO Global Holdings
Sun Microsystems
The SCO Group
The gang's all here.
Note that there is also a schedule for hearings going forward:
September 24, 2009 - 2 PM
October 21, 2009 - 3 PM
November 20, 2009 - 2 PM
December 22, 2009 - 2 PM
Isn't that depressing? From that schedule, SCO seems eternally stuck in bankruptcy as solidly as if its feet were frozen in an iceflow which is drifting slowly absolutely nowhere in particular. But of course, should the trustee decide there is no viable business, it could also end very fast. You noticed that one of the tasks the law firm has is to turn assets into money. SCO owes Novell some money, millions. Speaking of which, does SCO have enough money to last until December? To pay Novell even? Maybe if it holds an auction fast. Or if its prince will come with a fat wallet and fantasies of a litigation lottery. Somebody has to do something if they want to pay Blank Rome. The September 24th hearing will no doubt rubber stamp this law firm.
At least the chapter 11 trustee has hit the ground running. The court ordered he be appointed on July 27th, and things are already starting to hum. Incidentally, Blank Rome has some lawyers who were recently chosen as outstanding in their field. They have a press release about it on their website:
Chambers USA 2009 Recognizes More Blank Rome Attorneys and Practices
June 2009
Blank Rome is pleased to announce that our practice groups and attorneys have again increased their rankings in the 2009 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Chambers USA recognized our practice groups in 12 categories this year, and also ranked more than 35 of our attorneys as “leaders in their fields.”
We received five national practice rankings (including three #1 rankings) in Investment Funds: Venture Capital and in four categories of Transportation (Shipping). In addition, we were recognized in both Pennsylvania and Delaware in Bankruptcy/Restructuring. In Pennsylvania, we achieved six practice rankings (including three #1 rankings), including Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A & Private Equity, Labor & Employment, Litigation, and Real Estate.
Blank Rome attorneys ranked among this year’s best are:...
Bankruptcy/Restructuring
Thomas E. Biron
Bonnie Glantz Fatell
Regina Stango Kelbon
Michael B. Schaedle
Joel Charles Shapiro
Raymond Shapiro
Ms. Glantz Fatell is a partner with the firm, and obviously she must be very competent in the field of bankruptcy/restructuring. She will be the principal attorney from Blank Rome representing the trustee. She signed the verified statement attached to the application. If you'd like to see an example where a trustee sued folks, here's a recent case in the news showing just how ugly it can get, a case ironically involving Blank Rome. When businesses go south, people start suing, rightly or wrongly. It just is that way. Nowadays, they even sue the lawyers. Which is why it's like the song says, God bless the child that's got his own.
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:19 AM EDT |
Please make any links clickable.
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You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Swiss MS purchases postponed to allow alternatives - Authored by: Peter Baker on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 08:22 AM EDT
- Sony snubs Microsoft in Google Chrome browser deal (The Register) - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:12 PM EDT
- Microsoft and Bell split up their website (CBC News) - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:33 PM EDT
- Internet Explorer posts largest loss since '08; Firefox, Chrome, Safari gain - Authored by: tiger99 on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 01:07 PM EDT
- Arrrgh! I've been Binged! - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 01:48 PM EDT
- accountant fired for writing e-mails in all caps - Authored by: Aladdin Sane on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 07:51 PM EDT
- SCOGBK#905 - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, September 02 2009 @ 04:48 PM EDT
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:23 AM EDT |
If any.
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You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:26 AM EDT |
Please note in the subject line
which article you are referencing.
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You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:37 AM EDT |
Plus: He knows the other lawyers and their skills.
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You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: GuyllFyre on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:42 AM EDT |
As you have pointed out, he's hit the ground running.
A lawyer and a judge has just decided he needs to hire an independent law firm
of his own to help him figure things out. Looks like he doesn't trust out
friends at SCO to give him the story straight.
There's a proposed schedule but if he does due diligence as he seems to be
doing, this shouldn't last more than a few more months.
Unlike companies like GM and Chrysler who really did want to stay viable as a
company in any manner possible and did follow the rules and quickly found a real
plan to actually use to try to turn around the company, SCO has dragged their
feet way too much to be anything less than questionable seeming.
A good company, while sometimes misdirected, is willing to take quick action to
stay out of court, out of bankruptcy, and turn around and do what's right to
make a go of it.
SCO has demonstrated none of this.
While the bailouts were not what we particularly wanted to see, when they big
automakers went into bankruptcy, they really made a concerted effort. They were
in this for a mere few months. As far as I can see, no more than four, whereas
SCO has been playing around for two years now.
The behaviour of SCO is completely unacceptable as a proper corporate citizen.
The Trustee seems to see this and is already on the job with a team of
independents to see what is going on, what is left to save, what can make them
money, and to really see if the company can come out of this as a real company.
To be completely honest with you, SCO still has a customer base. If they could
separate themselves from the litigation issues and simply focus on being a great
tech company, they could take what they have and actually do well. Put a
competent and honest management staff in place, make an announcement that they
will honor their agreements in the United Linux agreement, admit that the APA
means that they have the business but not the copyrights, pay Novell according
to the contract, and make a whole heck of a lot of money making a great product,
supporting companies like Autozone with conversions to Linux, selling support
contracts out the wazoo, abiding by the GPL...I see a SCO that could be great,
coming from the Unix Santa Cruz and the Caldera Linux, what a beautiful
world...
Tomorrow I will be less optimistic. Tonight seems good.[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Depressing? No. - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 08:14 AM EDT
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| Authored by: tce on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:42 AM EDT |
Wow. Just wow.
Oh, and speaking of Piercing the Veil, google images leads to tee shirts for
sale:
http://new.merchnow.com/products/91737
I have no idea if the music is kid-safe, but their heart may be in the right
place!
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 01:06 AM EDT |
Methinks Darl n' friends be quaking in their boots.
Time to confiscate their passports.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: nsomos on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 01:11 AM EDT |
Perhaps a thread for suggestions for the trustee
and/or their law firm. Just to keep things tidy.
(We realize they may never read any of this)[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 02:54 AM EDT |
"like the song says, God bless the child that's got his own."
sweet.
& funny :)
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 04:14 AM EDT |
Cattleback Holdings
IBM
Me, Inc.
Me Software, Inc.
Microsoft
Novell Inc.
Red Hat Inc.
SCO Global Holdings
Sun Microsystems
The SCO Group
Oracle & HP must be feeling left out.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 04:44 AM EDT |
does SCO have enough money to last until December? To pay Novell
even?
It doesn't have enough money to last until October if it pays
Novell.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 06:01 AM EDT |
| As long as it's Blank Rome and not Blank Check. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: TJ on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 07:09 AM EDT |
nunc
pro tunc August 25th - it looks like the Trustee hit the ground
running.
He was appointed on August 25th and brought in his law firm,
Blank Rome, on the same day. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: TheBlueSkyRanger on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 07:21 AM EDT |
Hey, everybody!
Let's slow up for a second. I know everyone's excited about a seperate law firm
and what it portends, but we do not know for sure what is going through is head.
What if he is heading in some other direction and we don't know it because he's
not showing his cards?
I know this seems great on the surface, with SCO trapped and unable to escape.
But this isn't over yet. Don't break out the self-congratulatory hoagies until
decisions are made.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, is all I'm saying....
Dobre utka,
The Blue Sky Ranger[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: TJ on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 07:26 AM EDT |
Edward N. Cahn Federal
Courthouse - Allentown
"If you walked into the doorway
of the Edward N. Cahn Courthouse, and there was Edward N. Cahn opposing you,
wouldn't you feel a bit queazy?" he asked. The honor isn't all his, ex-federal judge says[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 07:41 AM EDT |
He wants to hire his own law firm. That means that he's going to use SCO's money
(Novell's money really) to enrich his own company where he stands to share in
the profits.
This is, at the least, a potential conflict of interest, if not a full fledged
one, isn't it?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: DaveJakeman on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 08:09 AM EDT |
a) Collect and reduce to money the property of the estate for which
such Trustee serves, and close such estate as expeditiously as is compatible
with the best interests of parties in interest;...
i) Provide litigation
services to the Trustee;...
Item (a) jumps off the page because it
heads the list, but item (i) catches my eye. I guess he'll need his law firm if
he'll be chasing after people for money. Especially money they might think is
theirs.
Adding Blank Rome to SCO's already over-long list of law firms, with
the attendant drain on non-existent funds, accurately points in the direction of
SCO's exit route: down. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: tiger99 on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 08:30 AM EDT |
| We could be in for a nice Christmas present! I don't know about PJ, but I have
been nominated as Santa Claus by a local school, so I will (reluctantly!) be
wearing a red dress, or at least a red coat, round about then. The regular Santa
will be sunning himself in Australia. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: rsteinmetz70112 on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 09:55 AM EDT |
How much of the motion is boilerplate? By that I mean a typical move by a new
Trustee. Seems like something that would happen in many cases, just to have them
availible, even if there were no litigation and possible malfeasance..
It also kind of reads like a Chapter 7 Trustee where it talks about liquidating
assets, rather than rehabilitation.
Does anyone have any experience?
I'd have expected that the hiring of Blank Rome would have come up during the
consultation that preceded this Trustee's appointment and be relatively
non-controversial.
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Rsteinmetz - IANAL therefore my opinions are illegal.
"I could be wrong now, but I don't think so."
Randy Newman - The Title Theme from Monk
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 09:58 AM EDT |
How much of the list of tasks for the law firm is just boilerplate language that
the trustee would (or has) used any time he's brought in lawyers to help with a
bankruptcy, and how much is tailored to the circumstances he's finding at SCO?
If the list is just the normal sort of due diligence that would be expected of a
trustee, then I suspect we can't read much into it, but if there are unusual
items in there, then perhaps they mean something. Are chapter 11 trustees
common enough happenings to provide a body of similar filings in other cases for
comparison? [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 10:17 AM EDT |
"Well, honestly speaking, wouldn't *you* want a lawyer, if
you were chosen to decide what to do next with the SCO
Group? "
I think I'd also hire a psychologist to help with trying
to understand SCO's behaviour and a psychiatrist for therapy
sessions at the end of the day.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: kozmcrae on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 11:28 AM EDT |
The Tilt-o-meter on it is perilously close to the inflection point. Not only is
SCO drifting to nowhere, they'll soon be drifting to nowhere upside down, and
under water.
---
It all started with Lynda Carter playing Wonder Woman in the '70s. Now I'm a
Heroine addict.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:47 PM EDT |
That job description talks a lot about liquidation and doesn't mention
reorganisation once. Has the trustee decided that, despite technically being a
Chapter 11 trustee, he's got a dead company on his hands and is just going to
behave as a de facto Chapter 7 trustee?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 12:52 PM EDT |
| Actually no, I'd probably just hire a paralegal/blogger in a red dress... [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: tiger99 on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 01:20 PM EDT |
k) As soon a practicable, file a statement of any investigation
conducted, including any fact ascertained pertaining to fraud, dishonesty,
incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, or irregularity in the management of
the affairs of the Debtors, or to a cause of action available to the
estate;
Now some of that may be a routine part of the duties of a
Chapter 11 trustee, but it seems to me that he has picked up a hint of something
nasty. Or perhaps Judge Gross did.We can't yet prove fraud or dishonesty from
what we have seen on Groklaw, but incompetence, misconduct, mismanagement, or
irregularity, in the common meaning of the words, have been evident in
abundance. The legal definition may differ, and may be hard to prove, but it is
nice to know that these things are likely to be investigated, and quickly. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: TemporalBeing on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 03:12 PM EDT |
I hope he's not from SCO's planet in his thinking on what is a
rational lawsuit.
well, his job, as PJ noted, is to bring money
into the estate as possible. That doesn't necessarily mean starting new
litigations against folks like IBM, Novell, etc. like SCOG did. Rather, it more
likely means filing lawsuits against Daryl & co to reclaim (i) salaries
paid, (ii) bonuses, etc; even against people like Norris who may have gotten
money they shouldn't have from the estate.
Yep, not a day to be one
who received money from SCOG since 6 months before they entered
bankruptcy.
BTW, one company I am aware of cut off their sales
to Chrysler when they heard that Chrysler might go into bankruptcy; namely b/c
the company was small enough it couldn't afford to return any money Chrysler
might have paid them for products delivered should the courts ask for any money
for up to the 6 months prior to the Chrysler filing. They were proactive about
it. Fortunately, if I understand things right - Chrysler never had to do
anything that way under bankruptcy so no one was affected that way.
Needless to say, I wouldn't want to be Daryl right now.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: wvhillbilly on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 04:25 PM EDT |
Hoo boy!
Sounds to me like the trustee is about ready to turn the frying pan over and
dump SCO right into the fire. And I vaguely recall seeing BK rules or laws
where a lot of the things listed on his agenda can be used as cause for piercing
the corporate veil.
Methinks SCO is in for a very rough ride these next four months. (Like Skyline
Cowboy is about to get tied onto a very lively bucking bronco.)
---
Trusted computing:
It's not about, "Can you trust your computer?"
It's all about, "Can your computer trust you?"[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: SilverWave on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 04:38 PM EDT |
.
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RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- Cockroaches (n/t) - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 06:47 PM EDT
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 06:57 PM EDT |
While I think he ought to do this, just on general principles, I think this
action is premature, just on a legal basis. Wouldn't this be MUCH more
appropriate, after the case is ACTUALLY converted to Ch. 7? This action sounds
too much like an end-of-the-line sort of action, at this time (more's the pity
that it isn't).
Maybe he's trying to acquire sufficient funds to pay the debt they have been
ruled to owe to Novell?[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, September 01 2009 @ 06:57 PM EDT |
It seems weird to try to get money to pay off your creditors by suing them, to
say the least.
So who is he working on behalf of? Does he have to work to enrich SCO at the
expense of the creditors? Or is there some way he can work to settle all these
cases?
Personally, my first act would have been to fire Darl & the rest of the
management of SCO...[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Tim Ransom on Wednesday, September 02 2009 @ 02:27 AM EDT |
Candid shot of Darl's
reaction
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Thanks again,
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, September 03 2009 @ 08:11 AM EDT |
Well, don't party too soon - with SCO, you may never know.
Maybe 1 or 2 months down the road, a real investor with real
money is going to show up (be that his own or some injection
from a PIPE fairy) and SCO staff is off the hook again.
At least I've lost my faith in the eternal "but this time,
SCO is *really* cooked" feeling that we've had sooooo often
(after Kimball's decision, after the appeals filings, after
commencement of bankruptcy hearing, after several failed
sales, after Chapter 11 decision, ...).[ Reply to This | # ]
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