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Parties settle dispute over documents
* Settlement details not immediately unavailable
* Judge gives Lehman green light to auction NYC building (Recasts first sentence, adds plans by Lehman to sell property, mortgage portfolios)
By Nick Brown
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) has resolved a document production dispute with Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) in an ongoing fight over whether Goldman had a role in rumors Lehman believes exacerbated its collapse.
The two sides announced the settlement at a hearing on Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan before Judge James Peck, but did not immediately give details.
Lehman asked Goldman in March to produce papers relating to rumors that may have played a role in its collapse -- and that it says may have originated from Goldman employees. Goldman has said its trading records show it had no financial motive to harm Lehman.
In May, Lehman accused Goldman of intentionally moving at a "glacial" pace to run out the statute of limitations, and asked a judge to impose a two-week time limit for Goldman to produce the documents.
In court papers filed Monday evening, Goldman said it should be reimbursed by Lehman for the cost of defending against the failed bank's attempts to "harass" it with unreasonable demands for speedy document production.
Goldman said in the filings that it has worked "diligently" to cooperate with the document request.
Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008. Goldman is part of a group of banks fighting with Lehman and others for control of the roughly $60 billion payback plan for creditors.
Lehman has said it wants to probe "rumor mongering" that it says undermined its reputation and contributed to the shortselling it contends had a role in its collapse.
REAL ESTATE
Also on Wednesday, Peck gave Lehman the green light to auction a former office building in Manhattan, overruling an objection from a group of Lehman bondholders.
Lehman, which was forced to foreclose on the building after a developer could not repay nearly $230 million in loans, has reached a $161.5 million minimum or "stalking horse" agreement with an entity called 1107 Broadway Owner LLC, and plans to hold an auction June 29.
The bondholders, an ad hoc group led by hedge fund Paulson & Co, called the agreement a "bad business deal," saying it supplies less than half of what creditors are owed on the properties.
Gerard Uzzi, an attorney for the bondholders, said the proposed price does not represent a premium on the property's market value.
Bill Fitts, a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, the firm in charge of Lehman during its bankruptcy, said at Wednesday's hearing that he thought there was a "significant chance" the ultimate auction price will exceed the stalking horse figure. He said the deal will avoid costly litigation.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/...ealEstateNews&rpc=43
* Settlement details not immediately unavailable
* Judge gives Lehman green light to auction NYC building (Recasts first sentence, adds plans by Lehman to sell property, mortgage portfolios)
By Nick Brown
NEW YORK, June 15 (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) has resolved a document production dispute with Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) in an ongoing fight over whether Goldman had a role in rumors Lehman believes exacerbated its collapse.
The two sides announced the settlement at a hearing on Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan before Judge James Peck, but did not immediately give details.
Lehman asked Goldman in March to produce papers relating to rumors that may have played a role in its collapse -- and that it says may have originated from Goldman employees. Goldman has said its trading records show it had no financial motive to harm Lehman.
In May, Lehman accused Goldman of intentionally moving at a "glacial" pace to run out the statute of limitations, and asked a judge to impose a two-week time limit for Goldman to produce the documents.
In court papers filed Monday evening, Goldman said it should be reimbursed by Lehman for the cost of defending against the failed bank's attempts to "harass" it with unreasonable demands for speedy document production.
Goldman said in the filings that it has worked "diligently" to cooperate with the document request.
Lehman filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008. Goldman is part of a group of banks fighting with Lehman and others for control of the roughly $60 billion payback plan for creditors.
Lehman has said it wants to probe "rumor mongering" that it says undermined its reputation and contributed to the shortselling it contends had a role in its collapse.
REAL ESTATE
Also on Wednesday, Peck gave Lehman the green light to auction a former office building in Manhattan, overruling an objection from a group of Lehman bondholders.
Lehman, which was forced to foreclose on the building after a developer could not repay nearly $230 million in loans, has reached a $161.5 million minimum or "stalking horse" agreement with an entity called 1107 Broadway Owner LLC, and plans to hold an auction June 29.
The bondholders, an ad hoc group led by hedge fund Paulson & Co, called the agreement a "bad business deal," saying it supplies less than half of what creditors are owed on the properties.
Gerard Uzzi, an attorney for the bondholders, said the proposed price does not represent a premium on the property's market value.
Bill Fitts, a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, the firm in charge of Lehman during its bankruptcy, said at Wednesday's hearing that he thought there was a "significant chance" the ultimate auction price will exceed the stalking horse figure. He said the deal will avoid costly litigation.
www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/15/...ealEstateNews&rpc=43
