NEW YORK, July 13 (Reuters) - Anton Valukas, the court-appointed examiner who probed the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, has been granted his request to be discharged from the case, the largest-ever U.S. bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck on Tuesday signed an order that authorizes the discharge and shields Valukas from lawsuits arising from a 2,200-page report he issued in March.
The report showed how Lehman had long used accounting gimmicks to bolster its balance sheet, and had been insolvent for many weeks prior to its Sept. 15, 2008 bankruptcy filing. It did not find extensive wrongdoing at the Wall Street bank.
Valukas is chairman of law firm Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago, which through May 31 had earned $54.1 million of fees for its work on the bankruptcy, court filings show.
According to court papers, Valukas' team analyzed some 6 million documents and assembled them into digital databases.
Peck authorized Valukas and Lehman to negotiate an agreement for Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions, a unit of EPIQ Systems Inc, or another vendor could take over that database.
The order also allows Valukas, if asked, to assist Lehman, its official committee of unsecured creditors, and a federal trustee in the bankruptcy case.
The case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: LEHMAN/EXAMINER (jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck on Tuesday signed an order that authorizes the discharge and shields Valukas from lawsuits arising from a 2,200-page report he issued in March.
The report showed how Lehman had long used accounting gimmicks to bolster its balance sheet, and had been insolvent for many weeks prior to its Sept. 15, 2008 bankruptcy filing. It did not find extensive wrongdoing at the Wall Street bank.
Valukas is chairman of law firm Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago, which through May 31 had earned $54.1 million of fees for its work on the bankruptcy, court filings show.
According to court papers, Valukas' team analyzed some 6 million documents and assembled them into digital databases.
Peck authorized Valukas and Lehman to negotiate an agreement for Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions, a unit of EPIQ Systems Inc, or another vendor could take over that database.
The order also allows Valukas, if asked, to assist Lehman, its official committee of unsecured creditors, and a federal trustee in the bankruptcy case.
The case is In re: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-13555.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Keywords: LEHMAN/EXAMINER (jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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