The Wardman Wire

Free Speech Campaign

My thanks to the Dean of Durham, the Very Revd Michael Sadgrove, from whom I have now received a response to the petition. He in fact sent that response on 27th August but unfortunately it never found its way to my inbox.

The Dean assures me that the Cathedral Chapter are working tirelessly to do what is possible within the legal constraints of a business franchise to ensure that the service provided by the shop returns to its former standards. He further expresses his gratitude for the support for the Durham shop that has been shown by those who have signed the petition.

Fairly brief this week, but with a couple of important reports.

Press: SSG Bankruptcy Application was in Bad Faith

A report from The Bookseller states that the application for Bankruptcy in the Southern Division of the Texas Court in Houston. They have been in contact with Randy Williams, the Trustee in Bankruptcy :

“The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filed by Christian bookseller St Stephen the Great was dismissed because the case was filed “in bad faith”, according to a court official.

Courtroom minutes show that the case was dismissed “with prejudice” during a hearing at Houston Bankruptcy Court last Thursday.

The ruling has a number of restrictions on it, including a set period when Mark and Phil Brewer, who run the chain, cannot submit another bankruptcy filing in the US. Randy W Williams, trustee for the Chapter 7 case, told The Bookseller that “the motion to dismiss was granted with prejud-ice and the judge found that the filing of the case was in bad faith”.

“Bad faith means in this case that it was done for a wrong or improper purpose,” he said.
In June, Williams filed a motion to dismiss it, claiming “on its face, there is nothing to liquidate and nothing available to fund an in-vestigation in the UK”.

The brothers told suppliers in June that SSG had filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code. The court later converted this to Chapter 7, leaving the retailer in liquidation.

Mark Brewer told The Bookseller last week that he did not have enough money to file for bankruptcy in the United Kingdom.

He was unavailable for comment this week.”

This is one step further than I reported last week, when it was only clear that the application had been “dismissed with prejudice” .

As I documented last week, this has a lot of implications.

The number of signatories is steadily growing and at each multiple of 50 signatures I am re-presenting it to the Dean, the Very Reverend Michael Sadgrove, until the petition closes — that is, until such time as the Brewers are no longer in control of the Cathedral Bookshop. It has now been sent to him by email three times, the first time to the generic Chapter email address given on the Cathedral’s contact page, subsequently to his personal Cathedral email address. As yet I have received no response, possibly because he has only very recently returned from holiday.

The petition allows space to leave personal comments and many signatories have chosen to take advantage of this to express outrage at the Brewers’ decimation of the shop and at their mistreatment of their staff, as well as to express support for the Dean and Chapter: a selection of those comments will appear in a future update.

I hear from Phil Groom that the application to make the UK charity Society of Saint Stephen the Great bankrupt at the United States Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Texas in Houston has been Dismissed with Prejudice:

Thanks to Rigorist for this update, posted August 29, 2008 at 12:11 am:

I just checked the US court system’s PACER service this afternoon (it is still afternoon on this side of the Atlantic). The bankrupcty case was dismissed at today’s hearing on the trustee’s motion.

The actual docket entry is as follows:

“Courtroom Minutes. Time Hearing Held: 11:00 am. Appearances: Mark Brewer for debtor; Randy Williams for Trustee. (Related document(s): 24 Chapter 7 Trustee’s Motion to Dismiss Case). Ellen Hickman present. Mr. Williams addressed the Court regarding the motion to dismiss. Arguments were heard by opposing parties. The Court announced its findings and dismissed the case with prejudice. (rsmi) (Entered: 08/28/2008)”

A written order with more explanation may follow, but as of right now, the bankruptcy case is dismissed.

This means that the Society of Saint Stephen the Great, a UK Charity, has been recognised (at this stage, by this Court) as not being able to be liquidated under US Bankruptcy Laws.

The “With Prejudice” dismissal means that the case is dismissed for good reason and the plaintiff is barred from bringing an action on the same claim. I can’t comment on what is possible in other courts, however.