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Looks like 09/25 is going to be a busy day.
Counsel,
I'm a little confused, the most recent docket entry in the appeal (DE Dist. Ct. - Index No. 09 Civ. 618), dated 08/17/09, links the following:
"Notice of Docketing Bankruptcy Appeal Appellant Brief due by 9/4/2009. (dab) (Entered: 08/19/2009)"
I don't see any Order from Judge Sleet granting JPM's motion for leave to appeal, but according to this, JPM's appellant's brief is due on September 4th. Does this mean JPM's motion for leave to appeal was granted?
If so, and we compute time based on FRCP 26, then WMI's brief in opposition would be due on September 18th and JPM's reply brief would be due on September 25th. I imagine there will be an oral argument on the matter following the briefing and a decision would come down shortly thereafter. If the foregoing is true, then this will be the last thing (unless something else happens in the interim) for us to wait on.
Thoughts?
Sullivan & Cromwell's NYC office is right around the corner from me, lol.
It would be interesting to read through the deposition transcript but I doubt it'll be available on PACER. It will likely be cited/quoted/discussed in JPM's opposition brief and WMI's reply brief on the Summary Judgment Motion.
I think that covers everything that we're waiting on. Good summary.
Thanks Fish!
I don't see why Labor Day weekend would be too soon. This could happen at any moment and WMI counsel did say (see link below) that we are expecting documents by the end of this week or the beginning of next.
The motion for leave to appeal is going to be denied by Chief Judge Sleet. I don't know what the timing will be as I have not had the time to follow the appeal, but I assume we're looking at anywhere between a few more days to a few more weeks. If his denial is miraculously filed on PACER before the Labor Day weekend, I suspect many of us will be poised for some good news over the weekend.
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_W/threadview?m=tm&bn=86316&tid=217190&mid=-1&tof=-1&rt=2&frt=2
Based on my understanding of agency law, this would constitute vertical piercing of the corporate veil, wouldn't it?
Mordicai, I read the brief as well and I agree with your take on things.
You make a very good point in reminding us that the holding company's lawyers are asking that the district court action against the FDIC be stayed pending resolution of the adversary proceeding -- the two cases are mutually exclusive and there really is no reason to delay one while the other continues unless settlement is on the table.
I also agree that we are very close to a settlement -- JPM's "hail mary" attempt to have its appeal heard in the Delaware District Court was the last procedural delay tactic in its now-depleted arsenal. I suspect this is the reason the parties have agreed to discovery on a "rolling basis" over the next few weeks -- JPM will settle before a single document is turned over and as you said, "the denial of the motion for leave to appeal will be the straw that breaks JPM's back."
We'll all be celebrating over drinks at the Bellagio soon enough. Good luck to all and go WAMU!
If that were the case, then this would be a HUGE conflict of interest issue and I'm sure the SEC and the DOJ would get involved. Its a very well-thought out theory and I wouldn't put it past Dimon's mind, but there is no way JPM would be able to get away with that -- especially while the parties privy to your theory are currently involved in litigation of this magnitude.
Volume is exceeding the average by over 50% today and its just 1:00 PM. It's amazing how the MMs are keeping the price down in spite of it.
I think its conceivable, but I don't know how likely that will be.
Bair and the FDIC do not seem to be budging much with this deal and I imagine that is the reason JPM threw the FDIC under the bus by saying WMI was indeed solvent at the time of seizure. I suspect the stalling and ongoing delay tactics by JPM could very well be a facade to cover the real issue -- getting the FDIC to cover its end of the deal.
In a nutshell, Judge Walrath denied JPM's motion to dismiss the counterclaims, allowed the bondholders to intervene and took JPM's motion to compel the noteholders (to disclose) pursuant to rule 2019 under advisement.
No, but thanks alot for looking ... it was much appreciated.
The articles below really reference Judge Walrath's decision denying JPM's motion for reconsideration and allowing the discovery to proceed on the original date of August 1st. However, since then JPM has defaulted on producing documents and WMI attorneys have stated that they are expecting JPM to produce documents by late August / early September. We have not seen any motion for sanctions or formal filings in re extensions of time, so many of us have been led to believe that WMI granted a forbearance on the discovery deadline in exchange for further progress in settlement negotiations. The discovery is the most critical motivator in the settlement discussions and the best indicator of when we can expect a settlement to be announced.
No new date has been announced (or noted in any of the filings) beyond the vague assertion of "late August / early September" at this point.
Yes, I do.
Where do you get this stuff, Jerle?
Your complete lack of consistency really takes away from the credibility of your posts. Relax and try to remember the facts.
No worries, with all the litigation going on with WMI its easy to get lost in what happens and where.
No, its been submitted (and briefed) to the Delaware district court where Chief Judge Sleet presides. It wouldn't be on Judge Walrath's calendar.
Judge Walrath's denial of JPM's motion to dismiss the counterclaims is fantastic and I'm happy to see a conclusive ruling on the issue. However, JPM's FIRREA argument will not be quelled until Judge Sleet either denies JPM's motion for leave to appeal or denies JPM's appeal altogether.
I'm trying to find a definitive date/ruling on when the discovery is due. Does anyone know for sure?
Fish, I think that is a pretty damn good theory and I'll certainly subscribe to it.
The twitter feed stated the WMI attorney chimed in about the 10 days (probably in regards to NY contract law on the Madison Square Garden issue) falling on Labor Day -- if i'm right, Judge Walrath allowed them to have until the Wed after Labor Day to produce the case law.
Did you actually hear "settlement" in the audio? If not, its probably in regards to the Madison Square Garden issue.
Thanks Rocco!
Same here. Hopefully the highlights will get posted.
Fish, that is an awesome way to look at it. I hope Judge Walrath issues a prompt decision on JPM's motion to expose the noteholders after oral argument is heard on the matter. I'm going to monitor PACER today for some kind of update on the appeal -- it would sure be nice to see that come down before the hearing on Monday.
The next week is going to be pretty interesting as these events unfold.
I think thats exactly right.
As for turning on the FDIC, I believe JPM has already started to do that by stating WAMU was indeed solvent at the time of seizure.
Indeed, I hope thats the case for all of our sakes.
Well, we've waited this long...another week or two of waiting as we monitor and observe how JPM handles discovery won't hurt.
I'm not sure because I suspect there are implications if this case isn't resolved prior to the one-year mark. I remember reading about it a few months ago but I'll have to look up the details before elaborating on them. Either way, I really don't think it'll go that far because the single, most potent motivator for JPM to settle is discovery -- which will not get pushed into October without good cause.
No, I didn't but thanks for posting the link. I really respect Mordicai's opinion and I think his post really sums up my sentiments with more detail and clarity. JPM is trapped in its own web and doesn't have any more antics left to play with.
The difference is that we're on the virge of discovery and JPM has exhausted all of its procedural delay tactics.
I didn't get the August 27th discovery deadline from a document, so I can't confirm that. I was going by a dialogue I had with someone here on I-Hub a week or two ago. I'm not 100% sure whether the documents are due then, but the person who posted was.
Regardless of whether the documents are due on the 27th or not is of little importance -- what matters is that discovery will certainly be due (or technically, overdue) before the October hearing and there is nothing JPM can do to escape it other than moving forward with a settlement. Matt on Yahoo! already confirmed with WMI counsel that we could expect discovery by the end of August or early September.
Do you honestly think the court would publicize that in it's agenda for Monday's hearing? Judge Walrath is a Judge - not a mediator. I'm sure she is encouraging the parties to settle this matter out of court (as most Judges would), but it's not her responsibility to run settlement talks in her courtroom.
We know discovery is due next week on Thursday, August 27th. We also know WMI is not afraid of going forward with it's motion for summary judgment because it is allowing JPM to depose Ms. Logan on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 25th and 26th, respectively. If you stand by the proposition that JPM will not turnover a single document, then the question you posed (in reference to seeing no settlement in August) would fail flat on it's face. I don't understand how or why people are getting caught up with all of the ancillary stuff -- JPM has alot to lose if discovery leads to additional civil/criminal claims. Accordingly, this matter should (hopefully) be resolved before the discovery deadline.
Thanks Gmenfan, very much appreciated.
I highly doubt that, Jim. Look at the timing of the two -- the motion for settlement of the 401k was filed on 06/19 and this "final draft" of the settlement letter was invoiced for 07/02 -- the timing doesn't support the notion of this reference in Shearman & Sterling's invoice being that of the 401k settlement.
Funny you should say that, I'm actually trying to get into a closed section of "Corporate Integrity & Responsibility" to fulfill my advanced legal writing requirement. I believe I would have the opportunity to select my own thesis for that class if I am able to register for it. If so, I will discuss my profound interest in writing about this case with the professor and hopefully get a chance to write a paper on it.
Absolutely. I'm stuck working 40 hrs/week at my firm regardless of my class load, so I'll continue to have lots of face time with PACER and my fellow I-Hub friends in spite of classes resuming.
Thanks for posting the link, Climber.
I'm a little confused as to why Shearman & Sterling would be working on a "settlement letter" in their capacity as tax counsel. I imagine there must be certain tax implications (NOLs, etc.) involved with the global settlement -- although I'm not quite sure what they would be.
I do not think this "settlement letter" is referencing the settlement of the 401k because the Motion for settlement of the employee 401k was filed on June 19th -- this date is referencing July 2nd. Thus, I highly doubt we're talking about the savings plan.
I'm sure Shearman & Sterling is assisting Weil in their capacity as tax counsel throughout the settlement process. I imagine this letter correlates to the Weil billing statements (which refer to "global settlement") in some way. The easiest way to confirm would be to cross-reference the dates and billing partners on the settlement-related entries of the invoices for both firms.
For what it's worth, Diamond, I never laughed. I think your $12/share is very possible.
I don't know what we'll see. I'm just saying I understand Bop's valuation theory because it makes perfect legal sense. If we saw $1/share I would be happy.
As for pre-seizure versus post-seizure, it does not matter -- WMI's recovery will benefit all shareholders equally. This is not a derivative lawsuit where select shareholders will recover.
Thats right. At $26B, we'll be seeing something between $20-24. At $52B (2x book value), we should be seeing around $30.
Call me optimistic, but I tend to agree with Bop's due diligence on the valuation. There is no reason why we should be getting anything less than book value -- especially when the court, in calculating damages, would grant market value (greater than book value) or some multiple thereof to WMI if we prevail in court.
I think settlement must be imminent -- it's no coincidence that this happened less than two weeks before discovery is due and while JPM expects its "hail mary" attempt to appeal will fail. I suspect both parties were expecting Judge Walrath to issue some kind of decision next week -- mainly because of JPM's complete and utter disregard for her authority. Accordingly and in light of the probable settlement negotiations going on, WMI probably eased the burden on JPM by withdrawing its Motion to Dismiss and extending the briefing time on the Summary Judgment Motions.
WMI has not budged or allowed further delay of the discovery deadline (currently due on 08/27) -- probably because this is WMI's critical vantage point in the settlement negotations. As long as the discovery is not further delayed, I think we'll see something between now and then.
Can't be too sure of anything these days, Jerle. WMI has given JPM more than enough time to give up the docs. I agree with Bopfan in that we will never see documents turned over by JPM because they will have settled before then. There is over a week left before the deadline, so calm down and don't let yourself get too anxious or excited over the latest filings -- especially when neither you nor I knows the reasoning or motivations behind them.
As unusual as this is, I think you might be right. The next few days will be very, very interesting.
Good luck to all and go WAMU!
Jerle, try not to jump to conclusions as to what this sounds like. Discovery is still due on the 27th. We'll see what happens between now and then.