All because the work day is over in England doesn't mean the day is over, and there's a hearing in Dallas scheduled for 7PM GMT/1PM Central that may play a rather large roll in determining if the sale goes through before the weekend or if Hicks can take advantage of the deadline set by the English high court to block the sale from taking place this week.
Regardless of the outcome in Texas, Hicks will still be in contempt in England if he doesn't withdraw his TRO by 4PM GMT tomorrow, and most people consider that it will be little more than a formality to get the Texan court to remove the order, but in this case nothing is clear until it's over. And usually it's not even clear then. Right now it's not clear who will be at the hearing in Texas, so that and any other breaking news will be passed along as I try to keep up with all the places trying to keep up with the goings on.
Guardian Liveblog? Check. Salty snacks? Check. 12-year old single barrel bourbon? Check. Recap for those arriving late? Check.
Let's get this party/sobfest started.
**Post-Offside server hiccup semi-update** Curious possibility mentioned by Joel at the end of the last thread deserves repeating:
Justice Floyd also suggested something I hadn't thought about: RBS might be able to use power of sale to sell the club without going into administration. Essentially, this would be RBS forcing the sale through without actually taking possession of the asset. It would depend on the specifics under the loan agreements, but it's certainly a valid means of conducting a sale in foreclosures.
No news from Texas as of yet, but 5Live was reporting that NESV has stated they are confident that things will be finalised tonight. Obviously good news if true.
**I was supposed to be working on stuff for the derby today update** The Dallas Observer says Hicks' earlier attempt at a motion that would see LFC and RBS in contempt of Texan court failed.
Also, Gillett is in London talking to his lawyers. To what end is unknown. At least if things don't get sorted tonight we can go to sleep dreaming of him being arrested for contempt of the English high court tomorrow.
And the latest official LFC statement:
Liverpool Football Club have tonight issued a statement following today's court hearing in London:
The Independent Directors of Liverpool Football Club are delighted with the verdict of Mr. Justice Floyd in the High Court this afternoon which now requires Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett to withdraw their Texas Restraining Order by 4pm tomorrow.
We are glad to have taken another important step towards completing the sale process.
Meanwhile, NESV is seeking a hearing in Texas tonight to overturn the TRO. Which further confuses the question of what hearing it was that started an hour ago.
**9PM in London, 3PM in Dallas update** KopSource, through a Dallas source, claims the case has been adjourned until 7AM local time tomorrow (1PM in the UK), and that whether the TRO is overturned will be decided then.
At that point the case may take less than an hour, so if things go smoothly (yeah yeah) there's room for the sale to be pushed through between 2 and 3 PM in England tomorrow.
Meanwhile the Guardian's liveblog passes along that "Martin Broughton has told Sky Sports News that he is hopeful that the sale to NESV will be completed tomorrow and that John W Henry will be at Sunday's Merseyside derby as owner of the club."
Also, it now looks as though the court case that started at 7PM/1PM today in Dallas had NESV's lawyers present, and later rumblings about them seeking a hearing were in fact simply very late rumblings concerning a case which had already begun with them present. So they were there, Hicks' lawyers were there, Gillett was in London, and Broughton was meanwhile also in London saying he thinks it likely the sale will be finalised tomorrow.
So that's about where things stand. If anything major breaks out of the blue in the coming hours, Ed will be around to take care of you.
**This is Ed now, Hicks is most definitely still a bastard**
Latest news from the sure to be Pulitzer-winning Guardian liveblog:
Before [Judge] Jordan dismissed the parties till tomorrow morning, first thing, attorney Stephen Fox, repping Hicks and Kop Holdings, told the judge that "our folks are aggressively working out an arrangement with RBS to take care of the debt." Meaning: Hicks and George Gillett would pay the close to $500 million owed and then look for someone other than NESV to buy the team. Jordan said, "I hope those talks continue," but said he needs more time to consider the UK judge's ruling before making a decision concerning yesterday's temporary restraining order. Steve Stodghill, repping Hicks and Gillett, told Unfair Park after the hearing that NESV and the Liverpool board have agreed to hold off on closing till tomorrow morning, around 8 a.m. Dallas time, when Jordan's expected to rule on the TRO. If Jordan lifts the TRO, sale's a done deal. But if Jordan doesn't, says Stodghill, "the ball's in the court of NESV, and they can decide if they want to attempt to close the transaction knowing they're in violation of the TRO. That's a decision they'll have to make."
At least the "Tom Hicks is a motherfucker" tag that Noel created is getting plenty of use. I defer to our legal experts (read: Joel) to make sense of this, but I can say that the prospect of these two c*nts somehow worming their way back into the ownership picture is as close as I get to a Liverpool apocalypse. There's just no way.