SCO Files Chapter 11, Plans Reorganization, Lawsuits On Hold

After the close of business Friday, the SCO Group -- which was recently found not to own the UNIX trademark after all -- announced it would be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a prepared statement, SCO President and CEO Darl McBride said, "We want to assure our customers and partners that they can continue to rely on SCO products, support and services for their business critical operations. Chapter 11 reorganization provides the Company with an opportunity to protect its assets during this time while focusing on building our future plans."

Only the headline of tonight's press release referred to "potential financial and legal challenges," although the remainder of the statement did not mention whether its future plans involve continuing or withdrawing its lawsuits against Novell and IBM. The company did say it planned to devote the cash flow from its consolidated operations to meeting its business needs in the near term, pending approval by a bankruptcy court.

Contributors to Groklaw late today located SCO's legal filing for bankruptcy in Utah, which by law lists the company's many creditors. At the top of the list, the company owes just over a half-million dollars to document management firm Amici, a company profiled in a 2005 Wall Street Journal article as having close ties to attorney David Boies.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US enables a company to continue doing business while a court-appointed overseer maintains its ledger. A contributor today informed Groklaw that Monday's proceedings in the SCO v. Novell trial have been indefinitely postponed.