U.S. Trustee Seeks to Block Final Decree in Morris Publishing Bankruptcy Case, Then Changes His Mind Without Giving the Court a Reason

The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.

And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down.
--- British nursery rhyme


Yesterday, the United States Trustee for the Southern District of Georgia, through Justice Department lawyer, Mr. Joel Paschke, Esquire, agreed with two local St. Augustine residents and filed an Objection to Morris Publishing's Motion for Entry of Final Decree, stating that our appeal on standing is pending and that "Where appeals of bankruptcy court orders are being actively litigated, the bankruptcy case is not fully administered and should not be closed." In re 1095 Commonwealth Avenue Corp., 213 B.R. 794, 795 (Bankr. D. Mass. 1997).

Today, without giving the Bankruptcy Court a reason, the U.S. Trustee withdrew the Objection. What do you reckon? Is the U.S. Trustee under pressure from the high-priced Chicago lawyers representing the influential Morris family of Augusta, Georgia? We have filed a Privacy Act and FOIA request to find out.