Jury Duty is Over

In the case of Frederick's of Hollywood v. Arthur Andersen, there were claims, counter-claims, etc. In the end, no damages were awarded, no money transfered. That was our verdict after three days of deliberation.

At the heart of the matter was whether Arthur Andersen, the independent auditor for Frederick's during Fiscal Year 1999, was the one responsible for Frederick's filing for bankruptcy in July 2000. Why might they be at fault? Because they failed to give an audit opinion for Frederick's 1999 financial statements, which this article says can make things more difficult. We found Andersen to be professionally negligent regarding their conduct in the audit, but didn't find this to be a substantial factor in causing Frederick's bankruptcy.

Both sides gave a lot of evidence--by my count, 24 days worth of testimony and a stack of evidential papers six feet high (which put us six feet under?). There was some conflicting testimony; each side's accountants defended themselves and their competence and said the other side was incompetent. We decided, "Hey, maybe you're both right", you both were incompetent and failed to work as a team to accomplish what needed to be done. And so Andersen wasn't able to sign off on Frederick's financial books.

I found a couple articles regarding the case, which was filed years ago and which I wasn't able to read until today ("Frederick's Sues Arthur Andersen", March 2002, and "Uplifting", May 2002).

Anyway, it's over. I can go back to work. And get married. And perhaps people going to Jessica's bridal shower will be buying intimate women's apparel from the Plaintiff. I just hope no one buys me anything from the Defendant for the bachelor party, as accountants seem to produce numbers, which are not nearly as sexy as lingerie.