Summary: SCO's Trustee may remove the management

THE recent decision about UNIX meant very little when it comes to Linux. Not only does it fail to change SCO's empty case, but it also neglects the importance of the fact that SCO will be partly managed (and supervised) by an outsider. Heise has some more details that are rather enlightening:

In addition to being in charge of the course of the SCO Group, Cahn is also responsible for securing the rights of its creditors. One subject of interest among the recent Groklaw comments on the case was the removal of the management team and CEO Darl McBride's loss of power.

Would it not be fascinating to see Darl McBride forced out?

The following new analysis concurs:

NOVELL AND LINUX USERS heard some disappointing news on Monday when the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed four of the lower court's August 2007 slam-dunk summary judgment decisions in favour of Novell in the SCO v. Novell lawsuit.

[...]

We say there 'might' be a jury trial for two reasons.

First, SCO is still in bankruptcy court in Delaware, and Judge Kevin Gross just appointed a Chapter 11 Trustee yesterday to take over full control of the company. The Trustee, former chief US District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Edward Cahn, will now have to decide whether to continue to pursue SCO's dream of extracting billions from its former course of disastrous, kamikaze litigation and threats against Linux users. Indeed, that decision will be one of his first major obligations, according to the bankruptcy judge's remarks in his ruling when he decided to appoint a Trustee.

The Trustee could decide that the interests of SCO's bankruptcy estate and its creditors won't be well served by pursuing the SCO v. Novell litigation, and may seek to pay Novell all or at least some of what SCO owes it and settle the matter instead, in which case there won't be a jury trial.

Second, there's also the fact that SCO is just about totally broke now, having spent most of its - or rather, Novell's - money on bankruptcy lawyers and chasing several improbable and ultimately unsuccessful financial cliffhanger schemes with a cast of shadowy players.

Along with deciding whether SCO's programme of anti-Linux litigation has merit and shows promise for benefiting the company's estate, the Trustee will also have to decide (a) whether SCO can still afford to pursue that litigation, and (b) whether SCO will be able to survive as a viable business and avoid final liquidation in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

SCO management's approach was to pin all its hopes on its daft litigation strategy, of course, but that in itself was one of the bankruptcy judge's main reasons for directing that a Trustee be appointed, thus removing SCO's management from control.

So SCO is almost back where it started. The effect of the recent ruling is exaggerated as SCO is broke and its most ardent opponents of GNU/Linux may no longer be in control of the company. ⬆