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Judge Rules That IBM Did Not Destroy Evidence
UnknowingFool writes "From the latest in the SCO saga, Judge Wells ruled today that IBM did not destroy evidence as SCO claims. During discovery, SCO claims it found an IBM executive memo that ordered its programmers to delete source code, and so it filed a motion to prevent IBM from destroying more evidence. The actuality of the memo was less nefarious. An IBM executive wanted to ensure that the Linux developers were sandboxed from AIX/Dynix. So he ordered them to remove local copies of any AIX code from their workstations so that there would not be a hint of taint. The source code still existed in CVMC and was not touched. Since the source code was still in CMVC, Judge Wells ruled IBM did not destroy it. Incredulously, SCO's Mark James requested that IBM tell SCO how to obtain the information. IBM's Todd Shaughnessy responded that all during discovery (when IBM gave SCO a server with their CMVC database) SCO never once said that they were unable to find that information from CMVC. Judge Wells asked IBM to help SCO out in any way he could."
SCO will soon be bankrupt. That moves out Darl and co. and moves in the bankruptcy trustee. The trustee will not spend a penny more on litigation. The trustee and the creditors (Novell and IBM) will agree on terms and all the issues will be settled pretty much to IBM/Novell's satisfaction.
The issues probably can't raise their head ever again, no matter who is found to own the Unix copyrights. In particular, Novell is forestalled from raising them because it has argued against them in court and there's a rule about not saying contradictory things in two different courts. So, when it's over, it's over.
The Exxon-Valdez oil spill trial is still ongoing, and that happened in 1989.
No doubt! And are you as distrubed as I am that this tech company has no idea how to use a software repository product like CMVC?? C'mon! I work in Config Mgmt and have used about half a dozen products to date it's not rocket science on how to use. Basic functions are about the same across the board.
To be fair, I imagine this is more that the lawyers don't know how to get the information they want... but still.
Oops, how did this get here?
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I will be satisfied when Darl McBride or other SCO senior execs rats his friends at Redmond (who are behind the financing SCO got from the Canopy Group) in exchange for a couple years less worth of jail time and they get indicted for whatever conspiracy they took part in.
Of course, the MS Astroturf Unit will mod down this into oblivion.
http://www.dieblinkenlights.com
In 35 years before the bar, I never met a "typical judge". Each judge has his or her own limit of BS they'll tolerate. On a wider scale, though, it's plain from the SCO dodge-and-weave that they got nut n' honey. The judge is clearly no fool, but does not want to wallow this pig twice. IMHO, at this point you're seeing her accommodate SCO's pride, allowing them to vent the last of their spleen before granting Summary Judgment. The case appears to be over. The judge is now doing damage control.