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SCO Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Can you say "the SCO, the" in German? writes "Trading of SCO's stock has been halted on news that SCO has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. This move just so happens to fall on the eve of SCO's trial with Novell. One would think that their prior boasts were mostly bluster, that they believe they have almost no chance of prevailing at trial, and that they're now desperate to protect their executives from SCO's creditors while seeking yet another delay. From the release: 'The SCO Group intends to maintain all normal business operations throughout the bankruptcy proceedings. Subject to court approval, SCO and its subsidiaries will use the cash flow from their consolidated operations to meet their capital needs during the reorganization process. "We want to assure our customers and partners that they can continue to rely on SCO products, support and services for their business critical operations," said Darl McBride, President and CEO, The SCO Group. "Chapter 11 reorganization provides the Company with an opportunity to protect its assets during this time while focusing on building our future plans."'"
That in their press release, they say "SCO owns the core UNIX operating system..." ? Maybe they missed what happened in August? Link to the article on Groklaw
Cross-post from Groklaw... I did a quick Google of "bad faith" in regards to bankruptcy filings, and there is apparently precident regarding exactly the same situation as SCO is in. Using bankruptcy just as a tool to thwart other litigation is apparently a BIG no-no. From a non-authoritative source: http://touchngo.com/lglcntr/usdc/bnkrptcy/briefs/bnk45.htm "One area ripe for a bad faith dismissal is when the debtor is using a bankruptcy filing as a litigation tactic to either forestall litigation or seek a forum perceived to be more friendly. In Marsch, the court upheld a 'bad faith' dismissal where the chapter 11 petition was filed solely to delay collection of a judgment and avoid posting an appeal bond where the debtor had the financial means to pay the judgment." Also, in addition to dismissing the bankruptcy case, the bankruptcy courts may well impose the "nuclear" sanction - barring SCO from asserting another bankruptcy claim in the future. This would leave them totally exposed to the full wieght of any other judgements, with no way out at all - not even Chapter 7 liquidation. In other words... "you're on your own, Darl..." Is anyone with any expertise in bankruptcy proceedings around to help the community figure out exactly how this works? Something tells me the bankruptcy filing is not going to fly for long, but may expose SCO's legal team to some serious malpractice liability. And... maybe after this little road bump is resolved we'll finally see Kimball bring some real sacnctions down on the SCO side too. This is just getting beyond ridiculous.