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December 5, 2010: On the first day (December 2) of the confirmation hearing, after hearing arguments the judge ruled that the Examiner's Report could not be used by parties supporting the Plan of Reorganization to bolster their claim that the Plan, and its integral Global Settlement Agreement, is "reasonable". As reported by Randall Chase of the Associated Press: "The judge in Washington Mutual Inc.'s bankruptcy case began a hearing Thursday on whether she should confirm the bank holding company's reorganization plan by excluding a favorable report from a court-appointed independent examiner... attorneys for the shareholders argued Thursday that the report, which concludes that the legal settlement is reasonable, should not be admitted as evidence. Justin Nelson, an attorney for the shareholders, said the report was based on unsworn interviews, and on confidential attorney-client work the shareholders have not seen and which WaMu has said it will not rely upon in defending its plan... an attorney for investors who purchased WaMu trust securities and also are challenging the reorganization plan, said the company was trying to use the examiner's findings in a "back-door" manner to try to get favorable information into the record while not allowing scrutiny of the confidential information the examiner used... [Judge] Walrath rejected Washington Mutual's arguments, saying the examiner's report can't be considered expert testimony or submitted as evidence unless it is subject to questioning to determine the basis of its conclusions." This ruling was a significant victory for the Equity Committee and the shareholders it represents.
The rest of the first day continued with cross-examination of William Kosturos. The second day (December 3) of the confirmation hearing featured the cross-examination of several more WMI witnesses. The questioning parties (lawyers for the Equity Committee, Trust Preferred Securities, and LTW) continued to pursue a common line of attack regarding apparent confilicts of interest among lawyers involved in the Global Settlement Agreement, specifically those for WMI who also have represented JPM.
A third day of the confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM (Eastern) tomorrow, Monday, December 6, and cross-examinations of WMI witnesses is expected to conclude. On Tuesday the fourth day of hearings is scheduled, and at this point it appears that closing arguments will be heard. After those conclude, the judge could make a ruling on the Plan of Reorganization, or the judge could delay her ruling by taking the matter "under advisement".
December 5, 2010: On the first day (December 2) of the confirmation hearing, after hearing arguments the judge ruled that the Examiner's Report could not be used by parties supporting the Plan of Reorganization to bolster their claim that the Plan, and its integral Global Settlement Agreement, is "reasonable". As reported by Randall Chase of the Associated Press: "The judge in Washington Mutual Inc.'s bankruptcy case began a hearing Thursday on whether she should confirm the bank holding company's reorganization plan by excluding a favorable report from a court-appointed independent examiner... attorneys for the shareholders argued Thursday that the report, which concludes that the legal settlement is reasonable, should not be admitted as evidence. Justin Nelson, an attorney for the shareholders, said the report was based on unsworn interviews, and on confidential attorney-client work the shareholders have not seen and which WaMu has said it will not rely upon in defending its plan... an attorney for investors who purchased WaMu trust securities and also are challenging the reorganization plan, said the company was trying to use the examiner's findings in a "back-door" manner to try to get favorable information into the record while not allowing scrutiny of the confidential information the examiner used... [Judge] Walrath rejected Washington Mutual's arguments, saying the examiner's report can't be considered expert testimony or submitted as evidence unless it is subject to questioning to determine the basis of its conclusions." This ruling was a significant victory for the Equity Committee and the shareholders it represents.
The rest of the first day continued with cross-examination of William Kosturos. The second day (December 3) of the confirmation hearing featured the cross-examination of several more WMI witnesses. The questioning parties (lawyers for the Equity Committee, Trust Preferred Securities, and LTW) continued to pursue a common line of attack regarding apparent confilicts of interest among lawyers involved in the Global Settlement Agreement, specifically those for WMI who also have represented JPM.
A third day of the confirmation hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM (Eastern) tomorrow, Monday, December 6, and cross-examinations of WMI witnesses is expected to conclude. On Tuesday the fourth day of hearings is scheduled, and at this point it appears that closing arguments will be heard. After those conclude, the judge could make a ruling on the Plan of Reorganization, or the judge could delay her ruling by taking the matter "under advisement".
