Black suffers stinging defeat

[bemildred]

Tsk. I mean tsk tsk tsk.
:thumbsup:

New York - A Delaware
judge has blocked Conrad
Black's plan to sell control
of his publishing empire,
Hollinger International Inc.,
to the Barclay brothers of
Britain, saying Mr. Black
consistently breached his
duties to the company.

In a much-anticipated ruling
late Thursday, Judge Leo
Strine of Delaware's
Chancery Court ruled that
Canadian-born Mr. Black
"breached his fiduciary and
contractual duties
persistently and seriously,"
adding that his conduct "threatens grave injury" to Hollinger International
and its stockholders.

The judge threw out Mr. Black's attempts to change the bylaws of
Hollinger International in a way that would have tightened his control of
the board.

The ruling marks a stunning setback to one of the most flamboyant and
controversial figures in the newspaper business. Mr. Black, who renounced
his Canadian citizenship to accept the title of Lord Mr. Black of
Crossharbour in Britain, frequently railed against his critics and defended
his claimed right to run the company he founded the way he saw fit.

Globe and Mail

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Wish I could have seen this a few days ago

Apart from anything else, he had a law suit for $200m no less served on him at dinner in the grand Hotel du Pont on the night before he testified.

There they all were tucking in under the chandeliers in the high-ceilinged, wood panelled dining room. Lord Black plus a host of lawyers and aides sat at one table. In another corner were some of the directors of Hollinger International who'd been highly critical in court of their fellow, if distant, diner. At a third table, sat a prominent shareholder together with a law professor. Other tables were crowded with the assorted followers of court cases, the journalists and public relations advisors.

Into this scene worthy of the glossiest Hollywood drama strode a man with a writ. The lawyer for one of the directors walked across the dining room to Lord Black's table and thrust a bundle of documents at him. Lord Black's lawyer and dinner companion, with some panache according to those there, examined the papers cursorily before tossing them on the floor.

It will not be enough to dispose of the matter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3517381.stm

[bemildred]

2. Thanks for sharing that.

I never watch TV or films, but I might pay to see that,
lovingly recorded in every detail.
:thumbsup:

[daleo]

3. I wonder if Perle's resignation from that pentagon advisory

group yesterday was connected to this? I believe Perle is on the Hollinger board.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Perle is up to his neck in it

Mr Perle is reportedly being investigated for $3m (£1.6m) in undeclared bonuses he received from an investment firm, Hollinger International. Some of Hollinger's investments went to his own company, Trireme.

Boeing was also found to have invested $20m in Trireme, not long before Mr Perle advocated a Pentagon scheme for leasing Boeing fuel tankers to support the Iraq war. He has denied any conflict of interest.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1157334,00.html

[Spazito]

4. Couldn't happen to a more deserving person, imo

My wish is to see Black and Perle in matching handcuff, staring out from behind BIG prison bars but, if I have to, I will settle for total financial devastation for Black.