LAS VEGAS, NV—Nevada District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonazalez entered an order March 21 that, but for some final housekeeping, all but signals the final excruciating act of Consipio Holding v Private Media Group, the seemingly interminable lawsuit that has resulted in the removal of Berth Milton as the company's CEO and chairman of the board. The order confirmed the results of the January 11, 2012 shareholders vote, approved the election of the new board of directors, dissolved the court’s Nov. 17, 2010 preliminary injunction that placed restrictions on activities allowed by Private, and decreed that Eric Johnson as the court-appointed receiver “shall have no more control over the day to day operations of the company,” the responsibility for which now rests with the company’s board.
Subsequent to the filing of Judge Gonzalez’ order, supplemental briefs requested by the court were filed March 27 with the court by the receiver’s counsel, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, and Laxalt & Nomura, the former counsel for Private Media Group, and a hearing on the issues contained in those briefs, which pertained to outstanding debts owed by Private as well as payments made by the receiver while he was in control of the company, was held in Las Vegas on March 29.
The current Private board consists of Eric Johnson, Anna Maksimova, Charles Prast, Ilan Bunimovitz, Michael Martinez. A sixth individual, James McCormick, also was elected to the board in January, but he resigned on Feb. 5, 2012. “Mr. McCormick’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices,” Private reported in its last 8K filing on Feb. 9.
AVN will report on those issues and the hearing itself once it has acquired a transcript of the proceedings, as well as the contents of an anticipated 8K SEC filing by the company, as soon as that information becomes available.
The other Consipio v Private lawsuit is still pending in the Supreme Court of New York and is scheduled to go to trial April 5, though the receiver stated in his second report to Judge Gonzalez that negotiations between the parties on a settlement are ongoing.
