A proposed plan to revive the shuttered Mt.Gox exchange hit a roadblock today, as presiding Judge Gary Feinerman opted to delay further deliberation on the matter until May 13th. The delay was requested by Mt.Gox’s defense team, arguing that such a settlement would unfairly hinder CEO Mark Karpeles and parent company Tibanne KK in other cases. It’s not clear what impact a U.S. settlement would have on the Tokyo-based Mt.Gox, or even if the rehabilitation plan proposed by Sunlot Holdings would be seriously considered for approval by the Japanese authorities.
Writing on CoinDesk, reporter Pete Rizzo explained the courtroom exchange:
Mt. Gox’s legal defense further took aim at the fact that Sunlot Holdings – the firm involved in the plan to revive Mt. Gox – has not yet purchased the exchange, arguing that this “has not happened yet”, and by extension may not become reality. Further, he alleged that it was also not clear that continued action would be sought against these parties, or as to which entities would pursue claims.
However, US class action lawyer Jay Edelson told CoinDesk he believes the claims amount to a “crazy argument”, and that both the new Mt. Gox and the former exchange users will be able to pursue claims against Karpeles and Tibanne KK.
Further complicating the revival issue is the influence of Japanese bankruptcy trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi, who would need Mt.Gox’s bankruptcy bid in the U.S. to be approved before having full authority to consider the proposed Sunlot deal. Although the exchange has temporary bankruptcy protection in the U.S., the judge has threatened to remove this protection should Karpeles fail to present himself for questioning in the U.S.
