In a decision that most in the industry will welcome, the judge in the Whitehall case has ruled that consigned goods will not be sold along with everything else in the upcoming Whitehall auction. For background on this, see here and here.
The judge seemed to feel that including consigned goods would be too dramatic and drastic an action: ”Debtors [Whitehall] try to neutralize the Consignor Vendors’ impassioned objections by arguing that they are not seeking a full and final determination of the Consignor Vendors’ interest in the Consigned Goods. The argument ignores reality. The sale of the Consigned Goods either at an auction or in a going out of business sale, may reduce or eliminate the Consigned Vendors interests, fully and finally.”
The judge said these matters are better settled via litigation, even though this would require Whitehall to file 120 separate lawsuits. But as the judge notes, there are too many issues left to sort through, including whether the “name change from Whitehall Jewellers to Whitehall Jewelers [was] an effort to deceive the Vendors.”
The eventual fate of Whitehall will be determined at the auction today on the 31st.
The full docket is available here (click “docket.”) More info when it becomes available; feel free to give your thoughts below or send them confidentially to rbates@reedbusiness.com …
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