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Rhode Island Denied Access To 38 Studios Lawsuit Documents
The copies of depositions and exhibits relating to the civil lawsuit against 38 Studios for its defaulted loans granted by the State of Rhode Island will remain confidential for the time being.
In late 2012, 38 Studios filed for bankruptcy and the Rhode Island Economic Development Committee (RIEDC) sued owner Curt Schilling and other former studio executives for failing to repay $75 million that the group had borrowed to make the canceled Kingdoms of Amalur MMO.
Earlier this February, Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee signed a bill to help settlements in the litigation surrounding the collapse of the Kingdoms of Amalur developer. Around that time, Rhode Island state Senator James Sheehan requested copies of the documents used in the civil lawsuit.
“The public and policymakers are entitled to know what transpired to bring about this failure,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan believed that the documents would fall under the Access to Public Records Act. However, according to the North Kingstown Patch, certain defendants to the litigation have filed a motion for protective order in Superior Court, which means that these documents will remain confidential until the suit has been settle by the courts. We don't know when Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein will make a ruling in this case, but we'll keep you posted when it happens.
[Source: North Kingstown Patch via Polygon]
Our Take
Understanding how our legal system works is always interesting. I agree that it will be helpful for the case documents to become public access at some point so that other States and businesses can avoid the financial failings of 38 Studios, but we'll have to wait a little longer to get a complete picture on what exactly happened in this bankruptcy.
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