DECEMBER 16, 2002
Meanwhile in court...
Morgan Grenfell's case against Arrows and Tom Walkinshaw continues this week until adjourning for the Christmas vacation on Wednesday. Counsel for the parties will deliver their written submissions to the judge, Mr Justice Pumfrey, by e-mail by January 2 and a judgement should be delivered on January 7.
What has emerged so far is that whether or not he decides in favour of Morgan Grenfell, Justice Pumfrey may not be as hard on Tom Walkinshaw as his predecessor Justice Lightman. This is because a number of internal Morgan Grenfell documents have since come to light including an internal valuation of the company's investments which was completed on August 17 2001, a month after the disputed letter which Walkinshaw claims opened the way for him to renegotiate shareholdings in the Arrows company.
This stated that Morgan Grenfell valued the investment in Arrows being worth nothing at all. They are now claiming that the investment was worth around $80m.
There was also an e-mail between Morgan Grenfell executives dated just a few days after the supposed deal which stated that there was a problem with the agreement with Walkinshaw but in order to avoid someone trying "to undo the deal" it was decided not to make this known to Walkinshaw. One of the executives involved was in the dock last week but was unable to remember what the problem had been but the implication is that Morgan Grenfell was going to abide by the deal. It may not be much but it is a ray of hope for Arrows and Walkinshaw at a time when things are looking black.