Iridium phase two Motorola settlement trial adjourned to April 14

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., April 1 - Phase two of Iridium LLC's trial to settle claims against Motorola Inc. was adjourned to April 14, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The hearing was originally scheduled to begin April 1.

As previously reported, Iridium's statutory committee of unsecured creditors has sought to recover at least $3.45 billion from Motorola, arguing that the company was liable for Iridium's meltdown because it unloaded a poor business plan and enormous debt upon the start-up and that the creditors were therefore entitled to billions of dollars in recouped losses.

In August, bankruptcy judge James Peck dismissed four of eight claims brought by Iridium's unsecured creditors against Motorola, saying that the creditors had failed to prove that Iridium was insolvent leading up to its failed satellite phone system in 1998.

The creditors and Motorola entered into mediation last autumn in hopes of reaching a consensual agreement over allegations that Motorola breached its contract of fiduciary duty.

Iridium owned and operated a global telecommunications system. The company filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 13, 1999. Its Chapter 11 case number is 99-45005.

The adversary case is Statutory Committee of Unsecured Creditors vs. Motorola Inc., 01-02952, which is also being heard in New York.

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