OCA lender asks court to quash subpoena seeking information unrelated to plan confirmation

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Aug. 4 - OCA, Inc. lender Silver Point Finance, LLC asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana to quash a subpoena seeking information that Silver Point said is not relevant to plan of reorganization confirmation, according to a Thursday court filing.

Former OCA chief executive officer and chairman of the board Bartholomew F. Palmisano Sr. requested court approval to take a deposition from Silver Point and to force Silver Point to produce documents for inspection.

According to Silver Point's motion, it is looking to prevent "a blatant abuse of process by Palmisano."

Silver Point said Palmisano contends that his demands for documents and testimony from Silver Point are in connection with the confirmation process.

However, Silver Point said neither it nor Palmisano is either the plan proponent or has objected to the confirmation of the plan, and both are outsiders to the confirmation process.

Even if Palmisano had a procedural basis for seeking discovery, Silver Point said the requests he has issued are fundamentally flawed.

"Under the guise of seeking to discover information relating to the confirmation process, Palmisano has demanded information that is not - in any way - relevant to the confirmation of the plan," Silver Point said in the motion.

"The requests impose an undue burden on Silver Point, calling for production of information that is irrelevant, duplicative, and more easily obtainable from other sources (including - given his long tenure as OCA's CEO and chairman of the board - Palmisano himself)."

Silver Point also said some of the demands call for the production of protected confidential commercial information.

OCA, a Metairie, La., provider of business services to orthodontic and dental practices, filed for bankruptcy on March 14. The Chapter 11 case number is 06-10179.

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