27
2012
Mets File Motion To Dismiss Picard Lawsuit
An article by 
Michael O’Keefe and Teri Thompson of the Daily News is reporting that the Mets filed a motion on late Thursday to have the case against them tossed for lack of evidence by Picard.
After U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed most of the counts in Irving Picard’s $1 billion lawsuit against the owners of the Mets in September, the trustee in the Bernie Madoff liquidation case embarked on an aggressive campaign to dig up dirt.
Picard, according to filing made late Thursday by lawyers for the Mets’ owners asking the judge in a summary judgment motion to dismiss the suit, served more than 100 document requests on the defendants and other parties. He took 20 depositions and even hired a private investigator to question acquaintances of the defendants.
But according the Mets’ filing, Picard did not find any evidence that Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz knew Madoff was running a massive Ponzi scheme, or that Wilpon and Katz had willfully turned a blind eye to Madoff’s scam. Instead, the filing says, Picard’s investigation confirmed that Wilpon and Katz did not know about Madoff’s scheme until it was too late.
“The Trustee has had two very large bites at the discovery apple,” the attorneys for the Mets wrote. “He has an unlimited budget and has spent tens of millions of dollars trying to find support for his baseless allegations.
“He has no evidence that any defendant was suspicious of Madoff. Instead, discovery has confirmed the truth — defendants trusted Madoff until the end.”
The filing comes two months before the suit is scheduled to go to trial in Rakoff’s courtroom.
As I’ve been saying repeatedly on MMO for over a year, there is no smoking gun. There never was. You can’t sue someone for being trusting to a fault or because they invested with blinders on. That’s exactly what Madoff has been trying to do.
If Judge Rakoff rules for the Mets, it will be a monumental task for Picard to get an appeal without showing evidence that they willfully participated in the Ponzi scheme. In effect, a ruling for the Wilpons will essentially squash these proceedings with a resounding blow.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Joe D…….do you think if the judge dismisses the suit that the Wilpons will upgrade the on field product in the near future, or is the other debt and the possibility of a successful appeal force them to continue to operate on the fringe?
If it’s one thing we’ve learned after all this time under Wilpon ownership, it’s that when they have the money they spend it and they have proven that time and time again. Their problem has never been spending, but how each of their GMs spent that money which the Wilpons always seemed to get the blame for.
I’m not sure the Judge will dismiss the case after all the things that have occurred leading up to it. But it does give you an early indication as to how it will end up after a decision is rendered – a decision that will be rendered on evidence or lack of it in this case.
JoeD! One thing you can blame the Wilpons for is not allocating enough money towards the draft. They have spent the 2nd fewest amount on the draft until the 2011 draft. That’s been a huge reason why we rarely produce top talent from our farm system. Alfonzo,Reyes and Wright and that’s been it since Cashen was GM. The rest have been nothing more than serviceble major leagers.
This is just a guess on my part not based on any knowledge or information.
It appears the Mets had invested a lot of money on their minor league system in terms of scouting, training facilities and player development so them to then do a complete turn around and spend so little on signing bonuses just doesn’t seem to fit into this pattern.
Perhaps the reason so little was spent in signing bonuses is because the amateur draft is a selection process so teams cannot just go out and sign whoever they want and monopolize the young talent like the Yankee organization did in the thirties through the early sixties. It is no guarantee that those selected automatically become the property of the team that selected them or are even interesting in becoming major league ballplayers. They might want to continue their education, pursue a career in a different sport or simply don’t want to play for the organization of which they had no say in the matter. They also have the option of waiting for the following year’s draft. This happens quite often.
So (again, this is only a hunch) looking at how much one spends on signing bonuses might be quite misleading – just like the higher OBP when it comes to sluggers like Puljos and Fielder means less productive opportunities to beat the opposing team, so can less spending mean many selections decided to pass up the offers.
Lots of us here with the first name Joe and the last name starting with the initial “D” – we should start forming our own little club. LOL
I don’t see how you can blame the Wilpons for not going overslot. They merely set the number the budget has to hit not how it gets spent.
Any GM confident in his selection could find a way to cut a league minimum player to find the money and pay the pick the bonus. The problem was they did not have the faith in thier picks to warrant such a large payday! And that says more about the GM than the Wilpons or the player in question!
I know it is fashiopnable to blame the Wilpons for everything (I mean after all Sandy can do no wrong right?)
But the truth of the matter is while they may be in trouble and do not have the money to subsidize the Met Budget it is hardly thier fault that attendance went down because players got hurt and it cost them the ability to continue building a team that can compete!
So many here are willing to fix the blame but few if any are prepared to fix the PROBLEM!
The problem is we do not go to see them play! For whatever reason!
I hate the Wilpons I will boycott!
I hate the stadium it’s Dodgertown!
WALLS! (which will no longer be a valid excuse!)
I hate Sandy so I will refuse to go!
They Suck no point!
Reyes is gone!
Whatever!
If you really want to cast blame on the cause of the financial issues then get yourself a mirror, stand in front and RAIL RAIL RAIL at the perpetrator!!!!
Unless of course you have season tickets in which case your not the problem and have every right to bitch about what is going on and who you want!
You at least PAID for the priviledge to bitch all you want!
I’m sure I will ruffle some feathers saying that but I stopped caring about ruffled feathers the second Sandy had a good day a few weeks back!
It’s not just the Madoff money as to why they have slashed payroll. Payroll had to be slashed to match revenue. Come on the Mets are bleeding money on the field too and the only real affect Madoff is had is that they did not have the money to bail out the team. However, how long could we expect them to continue to poor lots of money into a failed product to start with?
Wonder what the odds are that the Wilpons prevail in this latest motion? Has to be pretty low. But if they do, then all they’re looking at is their legal fees up to this point? And if yes, those have to be substantial.
I dont think they will prevail in this motion, but it’s certainly a damning blow against Picard nevertheless. As for their legal fees, remember some of their counsel is family, and they also have insurance to cover expenses from suits like this.
Where is the “damning blow”? All I see there is the Wilpon’s claims and assertions. That doesn’t make it so. What does Picard have to say? We have no idea what he has assembled in his file. And that is only as regards the excess damage claim, the underlying clawback of some $300M to $400M will remain for adjudication even if the Wilpons should happen to get the $1B off their back.
No they won’t get the case dismisd that would actually make it easier for Picard on appeal.
The Judge would rather just let them try the case and be done with it!
I have said from day one this case is weak, it’s hard enough to prove someone was in on it let alone that they kind of knew but didn’t get out of the fund. I mean that could apply to everyone IN that fund including the victims Picard is supposedly representing!
If the Wilpons should have known then the Victims should have too!
In the end I predict the Wilpons will pay that 86 Mil they supposedly got in profit and thats about it!
When you add lawyer fees to that they might lose a little over 100 Mil in total over this!
Not that it will help us in the least. Until the team makes a profit based on attendance we are stuck playing small market baseball cause thats the mentality of our FO!
well, let’s hope it gets the quick boot. maybe that would free up some $$ to help right the ship?
The number one reason the Mets decided to sell $200 million worth of stakes in the team was to be able to keep the team in case they lost $300 million in the suit. If they end up winning the case they in effect fall into a $135 million dollar cash cow (They still have to pay MLB and BOA $65M). Not only will that get them completely out of debt through 2015, but it leaves about $50M to spend if they choose to.
think they can get damages from Picard? Legal expenses, punitive and perceived damage to their reputation?
Wouldn’t it be awesome if they could get Picard to take Jason Bay too?
That would be amazing and hilarious. A HUUUUUUUGE middle finger to a lot of people.
highly unlikely
Wow, I never gave that much thought, but if they win, they certainly have grounds to pursue an action like that.
They would have grounds but how would it look in the press if one group who actually made money off the victims decided to take more from them in a counter suit?
They will take the money they keep and run, call it a day, no need for more press regarding madoff if I’m them!
They are hated enough already why push it?
The Wilpon group filed for $160 million in “net-loser” claims. Maybe it’s just a tactical move.
If that happens, would you care to speculate on how they would approach this next year? I still think they’ll look to unload Bay, but Wright I could see them holding onto as well as being prepared for a bigger FA signing for next offseason. The FA field looks to be significantly better for the coming year. And who knows, if Murph turns into a beast, maybe they still look to flip Wright… Just some wild guessing on my part.
But again, to have flexibility to make moves would be nice in itself.
Just for fun, because like Joe, I don’t think it’ll be thrown out completely, they still desperately need to move Bay. Wright they’d extend and they’d make a splash for at least two of the major pitching FAs for 2013.
Well, that FA class is going to lsoe some of its luster since a few of thsoe guys will lock up with their current teams. But, ya, there are some intriguing names.
As much as I love the idea of flexibility, I don’t want to go back to the “spend now worry later” method. Use this new money as one of several resources, not Plan A through T.
It is nice to think we’ll be able to lockdown Ike and Niece and such long term.
Oh, I well agree that I do not want to see them just chucking dollars around like a sailor on a weeks leave in the Philippines. Locking up some of the young guys, Ike in specific, and then bringing in a better catching & CF options and snagging one of the upper pitchers (while letting Pelf hit the road) would be wonderful.
I think it honestly depends on how players perform this year both at the MLB level as well as the minor league level. As said countless times on MLB Network, FA is to put you over the top not to get you to the top.
Actually, I think any added money should be used as ketchup to make eating Bay’s salary easier.
Maybe use some of it to get a decent RF or CF.
isn’t this just the “big” lawsuit (the damages part?)
They still are looking at the clawback piece for the profits though I think. So what, the 300mill original figure? I don’t think that is going away.
Maybe if this filing does nothing else, it finally gets the 2 sides to settle and put this behind everyone.
A huge part of the problem has been that Picard is in a can’t lose situation. he gets paid a % of money recovered (like in any contingency deal), but he also gets paid time & expense. So it actually is to his favor to drag this on forever (of course, it screws the Madoff victims, since less money for them!)
He can only drag it on for so long. Judges don’t like when you play with their time.
I think his real goal in this is notariety. He’s going to spin this into a political career, the way Spitzer did with his whole “Sheriff of Wall Street” image and going after Martha Stewart. Picard sees the wilpons as the big pelt he can hang on his wall and get him into an Attorney General office.
I fugure it is money. He has made many millions of dollars out of this (10s if not hundreds) personally. Who knows how much name recognition or politcs plays into it!
If so, he probably overplayed his hand, since he seems to have long since passed from being some while knight trying to get money for the little man, to basically a thief/corporate raider that is stealing from the reclaimed funds.
Any, You have it correct. Even if they happen to win this round, the clawback still has to be paid and that alone will send them on their knees, especially with the slow turnstile this season once the team demonstrates it truly sucks.
LoL, did you see the photo the Daily News used of Fred Wilpon?
I wonder how the conversation went into picking that one? Maybe something like “Do you have any photos of Fred Wilpon where he is not well dressed not smiling and has a card on his chest with his name so ppl know who he is?”
That was a very unflattering photo to say the least. He looked like a vampire or something.
Rubin made a piece today about the state of the finances:
http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7495352/new-york-mets-financial-calamity-threatens-engulf-mets
Nothing new here but it helps to see all the different financial issues that the Wilpon’s are facing in one consolidated list.
If the case is dismissed or if the amount they have to return is low, it gives the Wilpon’s a significantly better chance to hold onto the team but spending will not all of the sudden come back.
There is no money to spend. Increase in spending will be tied to an increase in revenue and on field performance. So unfortunately don’t look for complementary pieces for the new farm recruits to be there when they are ready. They will not come until afterwards which will delay the re-building process.
It really depends on how good these young-ins look and if they can infuse any excitement into the product on the field. Also, if they Mets manage their money well then lets say because of the cuts this year they actually make 10M if they do not go out and just spend it because they have it but save it for when it’s needed they may have more money to go with that core.
the NEW CORE salutes you!
Eh, come up with a new name. It’s like re-using the Justice League or some other fictional group
I vote for “the dirty bastards”
The Real Dirty Bastards.
Yes, let’s stick with that.
The mandate for this year was clearly only spend $5 and no contracts that go into 2014, which is fine given all the uncertainty.
By next year whether it’s Wilpon’s or new ownership they should be able to start changing course and re-investing into ML talent. Not just spend $50 million and getting back to previous number but slowly building it back up over 3-4 years focusing on strengths and weakness’s.
The Wilpon haters seemed to believe the old adage that an enemy of my enemy is my friend. But in reality Irving Picard is not the friend of the haters. He is just a financial pickpocket who was looking for a grand killing.
A comment worthy of applause. Nice job, Des.
they’re crooks, who imo shouldn’t be allowed to run a franchise, had there been other commissioner instead of bud selig these crooks would’ve been out of office a long time ago, being that is selig’s buddies, he appoints a GM who don’t care about winning just slash payroll and allowed these crooks to borrow money for as long as they can to continue business… and at the end who’s suffering the most? us fans who spent out hard earn money watching absolute GARBAGE on the field… and that was with 3 all stars at hand last year..
How have the broken the law?
Alex, I never tell other Met fans what to think, we all are entitled to our own opinions. I’m not a huge Wilpon fan, far from it. But at the same time I don’t think it’s fair to characterize them as crooks. You can say they have been bad owners which is kind of debatable in and of itself, but to call them crooks and infer they were performing illegal acts is way off base. We have a justice system and 99% of the time it works. The feds looked at the situation and passed, so did New York State governing bodies. Picard and his baseless claims, 75% of which have been already dismissed, must still be proven in a court of law. Don’t forget our constitution and that in this country you are innocent until proven guilty.
I agree JoeD. I can’t stand the SOB’s but if the SEC didn’t find anything on Madoff then how can anyone say the Wilpons knew it was a Ponzi scheme. They don’t know how to run a MLB franchise and Jeffy may have stuck his nose in the day to day operatons of the team but that doesn’t mean they’re crooks.To compare them to the McCourts is unfair.McCourt used Dodger revenues to buy multi million dollar estates and villas offshore,plus a few yachts.That’s why MLB took over.
With that said I would still love for Mark Cuban to own the Mets.
The only thing you can blame the WIlpons for really is their selections for the GM position!
They spent when the GM said spend, They cut when the GM said CUT!
They drafted when the GM said draft, they Traded when the GM said Trade!
A BAD owner would be all in thier face like Daniel Snyder and Al Davis used to be with their teams!
And in rare occassions a overbearing owner can be a good thing, see George Steinbrenner!
The Wilpons aren’t the worst ownership, Maybe they are a bit too trusting in thier hired SKILL SETS!
It’s not like the guy from LA who basically raided the team finances for his own personal benefit!
I just think too many people blame the Wilpons because they got what they wanted and had everyone else fired and now they want to fire the guy who got rid of them because they ran out of ideas for whose head to take off!
Taking emotions out of it and just looking at the facts, I don’t see where they come off as crooks.
Naive, bad business decisions, no head for running a baseball team maybe….but crooks…I just don’t see it.
That’s my point of view too, along with a few other expletatives.
Does anybody know if this filing to dismiss the case is a routine step taken by lawyers and should not be seen as anything going beyond than that?
Alex68 — Every now and then, I feel a bit sorry for you and your runaway emotions. Please Alex, it’s time to think rationally and stop with the inappropriate names. I know you can be perceptive but you have to demonstrate it.
Nah, the real pickpocket was the Crook BM (Madoff in case anyone has forgotten). He made off with our team.
Sometimes there is more than one crook. If Bernie and Irving were in the same room, each would have the wallet of the other guy. That would be a case of stolen identities.
Kudos Des!
Some people hatred of the Wilpons blind them to the truth!
Think of what this offseason and last season might have been like if Picard hadn’t forced the Mets to put 400 Mil into a holding pattern to deal with this frivilous lawsuit!
Reyes might still be here, Cliff Lee might have been a Met, We might have had a shot at the playoffs last year and we might have been active in IMPROVING players not downgrading in the name of saving money!
Picard is no friend to Met fans!
[...] MetsMerizedOnline is reporting a story from the Daily News that the Mets did in fact file a motion to drop the lawsuit by Irving Picard Thursday night. [...]