A courtroom listening to on the sale of bankrupt electrical truck startup Nikola’s belongings to Lucid Motors was going easily on Friday. No objections had been filed to the transaction, and Delaware chapter Choose Thomas Horan verbally permitted it with out hesitation.
Till, that’s, a lawyer piped up on the Zoom name in the direction of the tip of the listening to.
The lawyer mentioned his shopper “has some issues” about the way in which the public sale course of was run. These may very well be addressed at a later date, he mentioned, however he confused he didn’t need his shopper’s silence to “be held towards us sooner or later.”
The lawyer was representing ISSO LLC, an entity that Nikola’s founder Trevor Milton has been utilizing to judge a bid for his former firm’s belongings. As a part of that course of, he was already barred by Nikola from touring its Arizona manufacturing unit — a call that Choose Horan stood by final week.
Whereas the approval of the sale to Lucid was breezy, the late look by Milton’s consultant was an ominous signal that he’s not executed poking at his former firm.
Contemporary off a pardon from President Donald Trump, which helped him keep away from serving a four-year jail sentence, it’s attainable that Milton might attempt to battle a $168 million arbitration award he was ordered to pay Nikola final yr.
That arbitration award stays a key element of Nikola’s Chapter 11 chapter case. Forward of the chapter, Nikola was capable of settle a category motion lawsuit by shareholders associated to the false claims Milton made whereas serving as CEO of the corporate. Nevertheless it was ready to take action by promising to distribute that arbitration award to these shareholders.
Nikola additionally nonetheless has some belongings it hopes to promote following the Lucid transaction. Lucid bought the Coolidge, Arizona manufacturing unit and the Phoenix headquarters lease, plus manufacturing gear. It’ll additionally rent 300 or so Nikola staff. However Nikola remains to be holding onto its stock of hydrogen-powered huge rigs and different assorted gear.
Joshua Morris, a lawyer for Nikola, mentioned within the listening to he was not stunned ISSO and Milton “would need to try to taint these proceedings.”
“It is a sample of conduct that we’ve seen again and again,” Morris mentioned. “We imagine these are baseless assertions. When requested for any proof or any specificity, none was supplied. We predict your honor ought to view these with a jaundiced eye.”
Morris went on to say that he believes Milton’s participation within the sale course of seems to be “an try and proceed to hurt the corporate for a profit that I can’t fairly confirm.”
He added that Milton could also be casting a pall on the sale course of in hopes of impacting that arbitration award.
“Maybe the play is to render (Nikola) determined for assist money in order that the committee (of unsecured collectors) forces the debtor to aim or settle for some low ball settlement proposal,” he mentioned. “We simply know that we imagine we ran the sale course of with an openness and concerned all events.”
The attorneys left issues there and let the listening to come to an in depth. A spokesperson for Milton didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
