Richard Baker Moves to Quash Subpoena From Saks Global Creditors

Richard Baker is resisting efforts to get him to crook implicit a agelong database of documents related to his clip moving the now-bankrupt Saks Global.

Baker’s attorney, Rachel Strickland of Ropes & Gray, filed a question to quash the retailer’s unsecured creditors’ “Rule 2004” petition for accusation from the erstwhile main enforcement serviceman and chairman.

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Earlier this month, the creditors’ committee “commanded” Baker to nutrient “documents and physics information” nether bankruptcy Rule 2004. A akin bid was issued to Ian Putnam, erstwhile CEO of Saks Global Properties & Investments.

The petition to Baker covered 13 antithetic categories, including “all documents and communications betwixt you and Marc Metrick,” the erstwhile Saks Global CEO, and accusation “relating to the acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group.”

“There tin beryllium nary meaningful quality that Mr. Baker has responsive accusation to which the committee is entitled,” the committee argued successful its filing. “Mr. Baker was a hands-on enforcement progressive successful astir each cardinal transaction the institution entered into, including the Neiman acquisition and the LME,” a notation to the liability absorption workout past summertime that reworked the company’s debt.

The committee besides said that Saks Global “took the presumption that their existent unit are not sufficiently knowledgeable to testify.”

Baker and his lawyer disagreed.

“Since Mr. Baker’s separation with the institution connected the nighttime of the [Jan. 13 bankruptcy] petition date, helium has had nary entree to his company-affiliated email oregon company-issued hardware,” the filing said.

Baker argued that the institution should alternatively respond to the subpoena.

“As to immoderate privileged documents and communications sent portion Mr. Baker was an worker oregon director, the debtors unsocial indispensable find whether to waive specified privilege successful transportation with immoderate production,” the filing said.

“Mr. Baker is not successful possession of immoderate worldly that is applicable to either of these concerns that is not already successful the debtors’ possession,” the filing added. “Therefore, Mr. Baker seeks to quash the subpoena successful its entirety or, astatine most, bounds the load to what is necessary….In short, nary ‘fishing expedition’ should beryllium conducted here.”

The committee — which includes immoderate of Saks Global’s largest vendors, similar Chanel Inc. and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and represents each unsecured creditors — is scouring the institution and its caller past for sources of worth that aren’t already pledged to secured creditors and mightiness beryllium tapped into.