PAAM Trial Pushed Back To 2008

Judge Michael Baylson has once again pushed back the scheduled start of the trial between the receiver ad litem for Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management Co and Man Financial Inc (now MF Global (MF)). Most recently set to begin immediately after Thanksgiving, the trial will now start Jan. 8, 2008, “subject to a possible short continuance of several days if one of the trial counsel is actually on trial in another court.”

So make that a maybe.

MF Global chief executive Kevin Davis said on Oct. 30, in the company’s quarterly results announcement, that it was currently “in active discussions” over a settlement and booked a $69 million charge against earnings to cover the tab. Now everybody gets another six weeks to sort that out before the soiled laundry meets the Tide.

Which might get interesting, as a NakedShorts’ spy at a PAAM shareholders’ meeting Oct. 24 said that investors were singularly unimpressed with the bid. Reportedly (NakedShorts’ invitation was lost in the mail, again) the entertainment included recordings of conversations between the now-indicted PAAM founder Paul Eustace and frat-buddy Thomas Gilmartin, the PAAM funds’ broker at Man Financial.

Music to soothe the savage breast, or even beast, it was not. Reportedly.