MOMG - That was the paragraph I also focused in on. I remember when this started that there was a statement that confidential information was being introduced as evidence that if made public could damage the company. Originally I thought this was info that was to be shared with the noteholders and was a reason I began to doubt. From this report I'm not certain it was shared with the noteholders but rather for the judge alone in determining if KRY's decisions visa-vie not filing arbitration represented good judgement. I'm no lawyer so maybe some on the board who are can clarify if this confidential information would need to be shared with the noteholders.

On the surface I initially agreed with the noteholders claim KRY should have filed for arbitration and that they squandered an opportunity to recover losses...in the continued chase of a dream for a permit that I think most of us realize will never happen......but I also do not have access to the "confidential information". If the noteholders did not either then that explains a few things to me.

This asside, another thing I came away with is these guys are low lifes who specialize in distressed company debt. Hope's profile indicates he hedges his risky debt purchases by shorting. Since he bought his notes in OCT 2005 just after the Chavez "nationalizing LC" speach then he knew what the risks were (as the judge pointed out). If he indeed maintained a short position as a hedge then I'd say he has been more than compensated for his investment and this suit was just a shakedown attempt on a distressed company. Since the other holders did not disclose when they purchased their notes I suspect the timing would be seen as even more damning than Mr. Hope's.

Nothing like kicking a man when he is down, but since their hedges likely covered more than their investment it is really US they are kicking and trying to extract what little we have left. It kind of makes me feel soiled for initially thinking they had a point.

After taking a few weeks off it is nice to see the saga of LC never gets boring no matter how frustrating it also can be.