For those of you waiting for word on scheduling from the Utah court, we now have life.
Judge Dale Kimball, the judge presiding over SCO v. Novell, which was just sent back to him when the Bankruptcy Court in Delaware lifted the automatic stay, has issued an order [PDF]. He'd like the parties to tell him what's left, can any of it be handled by summary judgment, and does the subtraction of the constructive trust issue mean the trial will be shorter. Any other matters they'd like to tell him about in the joint statement he leaves to their discretion. And he'd like to know by the 13th. Their answers will impact how soon he can schedule the trial, but he's interested in doing so as soon as possible. As you know, since they've told us so since 2003, SCO can't wait to have its day in court. So I'm sure they will be delighted.
And if you've followed the bouncing ball from day one, you know that SCO never has any difficulty cooperatively filing joint statements. So, this should go lickety split. Yes. Joking. Here's the ruling from the Bankruptcy Court this order references. And here's Novell's original Trial Brief, which mentioned that a request of a constructive trust would not be part of the trial itself. That doesn't mean, of course, that the trial won't be shortened in terms of what evidence Novell might choose to present. Update: And now they can't use the excuse that they have no lawyer -- the Bankruptcy Judge has just signed the very much revised and restrictive Order [PDF] permitting Boies Schiller to be retained, but paid under the Bankruptcy Court's watchful eye.
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF UTAH
CENTRAL DIVISION
THE SCO GROUP, INC.,
Plaintiff,
vs.
NOVELL, INC.,
Defendant. |
ORDER
Civil Case No. 2:04CV139DAK |
On November 27, 2007, Novell Inc. filed a Notice of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court's
Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Novell's Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay
to Proceed with the Lawsuit by Novell, Inc. The court has reviewed the Delaware Bankruptcy
Court's decision and will attempt to schedule the trial in this matter as expeditiously as its
calendar will allow.
To assist in its scheduling of the trial, the court requests that the parties submit a joint
statement of their views regarding the appropriate procedures for resolving the issues in this case
by no later than December 13, 2007. The court requests that the parties specifically address
whether any portion of the case can be resolved through a motion for summary judgment and
whether the Delaware Bankruptcy Court's retention of the constructive trust issue will shorten
the anticipated length of the trial. Given the present congestion of the court's trial calendar, the
length of the trial will significantly impact the date on which the trial can be scheduled. Any
other matters that the parties deem appropriate to address in the statement are left to their discretion.
DATED this 6th day of December, 2007.
BY THE COURT:
[signature]
DALE A. KIMBALL
United States District Judge
2
|
