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SCO Asks to Extend Exclusivity Period Again - Hearing Sept. 16

By Pamela Jones et al.

SCO has filed a motion [PDF] asking for a third extension of the exclusivity period. It wants 105 days after any final judgment is entered in the SCO v. Novell litigation. Since at the moment no one knows when a final judgment will be filed, it's a request for an open-ended extension. The hearing on this motion is set for September 16.

SCO's reasons for its motion are several: first, that Novell is asking for more money than SCO thinks is reasonable in pre-judgment interest in the Utah litigation. That means the issue may have to be worked out in motions to the Utah court. It wants to know, and its potential backers do too, SCO says, exactly how much SCO owes and also how long it will take for the appeal to be filed. Until there is a final judgment, SCO can't file a notice of appeal. Novell has raised the issue in Utah that until the Swiss arbitration is decided, some claims in the litigation are still pending, and so a final decision is not possible yet. So that may have to be litigated too. Then the bankruptcy court has to decide about the constructive trust.

According to SCO, the Stephen Norris deal is still being worked on, though they say now it might be either a buyout or a loan after all, and it hints at others potentially interested in funding SCO. But they want some clarity on when the appeal will be entered.

Does that make sense to you? After all, SCO mentions a figure of potential claims against SCO in the amount of $96 million, above and beyond what it owes Novell. Should it get an extension until all the claims against SCO are decided? Now, *that* would be clarity. Why is an interest calculation on $3 million or so and a date for a filed notice of appeal enough to give potential backers a feeling of finality, with so much to come? There is a much bigger cloud waiting on the horizon than anything Novell ever represented.

Anyway, SCO asks for an extension of time to file a reorganization plan, setting a new deadline at 45 days after a final judgment is filed in the SCO v. Novell matter, and then 60 days after that to "seek approval from impaired classes of such a plan."

Full post as published by Groklaw on August 12, 2008 (boomark / email).