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Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:06 AM EST

Bob Mims is at it again, and this time it's the scoop of scoops. Ralph Yarro, Darcy Mott and Brent Christensen are suing Canopy Group over "unlawful ouster" from their jobs there, and Canopy Group -- the Noorda family and William Mustard -- are countersuing, charging them with "siphoning off at least $20 million via 'a series of self-dealing and wasteful transactions.'" The lawsuits are filed in Provo's 4th District Court. Both sides claim the other took advantage of the elderly Noordas.    

Can you imagine how fascinating the discovery in this case will be?

  


Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million | 343 comments | Create New Account
Comments belong to whoever posts them. Please notify us of inappropriate comments.
Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: inode_buddha on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:20 AM EST
OT here, please.


---
inode_buddha
peter.vantassell@gmail.com

[ Reply to This | # ]

The Noorda of Novell
Authored by: Vaino Vaher on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:34 AM EST
The actions of Canopy (and affiliated companies) is often totally oposite from
what I had exptected from Mr Noorda. There is no predicting how we will behave
when we grow old. In this case I feel relieved to conclude that the actions of
Yarro et al. were not ordered by Noorda, but were rather an apptempt to scoop up
a part of an old mans wealth.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Corrections here
Authored by: Nick on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:37 AM EST
Such as they may be with such a small story.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: yern4 on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:42 AM EST
What a shame (not). I hope this goes to a grand jury.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Relate to last article (re IBM subpoena)
Authored by: webster on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:46 AM EST
The new group at Canopy might be all too willing to give up documents,
statements and such on Canopy involvement in the SCO scheme. What's bad for
Yarro will be good for them. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend.) They can
accuse Yarro of squandering Canopy assets in pursuit of SCO's unfounded scheme.
When the carcass is lean the hyenas snap at each other.

---
webster

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: blacklight on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:05 PM EST
""We would not have filed this lawsuit if we thought there was any
other way to resolve this matter and to preserve Canopy, its related companies
and the jobs of many people," he [Ralph Yarro] said." Bob Mims
reporting

... including especially the preservation of job #1 aka Ralph Yarro's job, I
presume.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Lawsuits?
Authored by: the_flatlander on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:09 PM EST
I'm *shocked* shocked.

They've all decided to sue one another? Really? SUch nice people, why would
they do that?

(Does Utah border New Jersey?) Does anything ever happen that doesn't result in
these characters feeling the need to litigate? DR-Dos. Novell's Network
Operating System. Linux. Word Perfect. Being fired. Theft. Wow.

Frankly, (though I'm certainly willing, and even inclined to suspect Ralph of
thievery), one wonders if it's true, why tell the press or a civil court about
it? They could just call the DA, and let the state pay to feed Yarro & Co.

The Flatlander

[ Reply to This | # ]

Vultus
Authored by: Jude on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:22 PM EST
Perhaps now would be a good time for SCOX stockholders to make a stink about
Canopy using SCO's (temporarily) high stock price to convert a worthless company
into real cash at SCOX stockholder expense.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: geoff lane on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:36 PM EST
Yarro was a trustee of the Noorda Family Trust (NFT) If you use Netcraft you can see that all the DNS registrations for TSG come from a block owned by NFT which gives it's address as 333 S 520 W Suite 300 Lindon UT US 84042.

The Canopy Group, Center7, TSG etc are all at the same address.

Then there is the small matter of how Yarro, a graphic artist, managed to become trustee of NFT?

If this case ever gets to court, it will blow wide open the activities of Canopy which were previously hidden. We might just have seen the begining of the destruction of Canopy. A fall that might drag a lot of people down with it.

---
Not using the GPL is not a character flaw.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: Pop69 on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:37 PM EST
So there really is no honour among thieves ?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Unbelievable turns of the plot
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:37 PM EST
Who's writing the screenplay for this increasingly riviting story?

[ Reply to This | # ]

This opens another legal front for Canopy
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:58 PM EST
They must also be devoting some attention to the various SCOX cases. This new
distraction will reduce their ability to focus on the SCOX problems, and will
create a new drain for legal costs. This appears to weaken the SCOX team.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: kberrien on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:00 PM EST
Is it me, or do the CEO's, movers and shakers of the world just need to grow up.

[ Reply to This | # ]

With the SCO lawsuits sinking in an ocean of truth...
Authored by: kawabago on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:04 PM EST
and Darl McBride and his little gang of incompetents enriching themselves with
gold and jewel encrusted parachutes at the expense of SCO's stockholders. How
long till the stockholders go after Darl McBride and company? I bet we'll see
them in court on that score before they'll ever get the IBM suit in front of a
jury.


---
Life is funnier from the far end.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Why am I not surprised?
Authored by: Latesigner on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:08 PM EST
The whole thing seems to be what you'd expect.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Motion to Intervene and Unseal
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:21 PM EST
In the interest of protecting the public's right to know,
maybe we can borrow G2's Motion To Intervene and Unseal
documents and Groklaw could submit these in Yarro v. Canopy?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: SilverWave on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:25 PM EST
Great scoop..

lots of public displays of dirty washing on the way.



---
"...They put in one hour of work, but because they share the end results they
get nine hours of "other peoples work" for free..."
Interview with Linus Torvalds

[ Reply to This | # ]

Judge Anthony Schofield
Authored by: stats_for_all on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:40 PM EST
Utah 4th district Judge Anthony Schofield presided over the 1998 Jeff V. Merkey (Timpanogas) vs. Novell trade secrets trial which resulted in the Judge's scathing critique of Merkey's grip on reality. Two years latter Merkey remained resentful toward the judge, and he organized "COPRAS" or Committee to Oppose Re-Election of Anthony Schofield. Schofield breezed to re-election (87-13%) in 2002).

Source for COPRAS

Judge Anthony Schofield also heard the Novell-Canopy contract dispute over the division of the DrDos settlement.

Timpanogas's defense attorney was W. Andrew McCullogh (however Merkey represented himself pro se). McCullogh is a perennial Libertarian political candidate in Utah, running for Attorney General in 2000 and 2004. Candidates resume

Merkey has represented McCullogh's relationship as a business partnership, and indeed a web search shows McCullogh using the Timpanogas phone number, address and email domain in 2000-1. Merkey wrote in an OT Linux Kernel thread :

I know most folks think TRG is a software company, but it's also a law firm, and I run a full law firm and legal practice out of TRG as well as develop software. We handle almost all of the ACLU lawsuits filed in Utah against The Utah State Government, Utah Highway Patrol, Mormon Church, Brigham Young University, and we litigate all types of cases all the time.
Source on legal

McCullogh's political candidacy attracts little press coverage. One SL Tribune article features this delightful quote:

McCullough, whose law practice is largely built on defending topless dancers and clubs against obscenity laws, said he applied for the porn czar job when it was created.

"I kind of thought it would be the best ? job in the world since I don't believe in the concept of obscenity, but I'm not unwilling to look for it," he said.

News source SL Trib

[ Reply to This | # ]

A sad story
Authored by: The Mad Hatter r on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:54 PM EST


Ray Noorda is a year younger than my father. Now my father is an active man -
the only way I can ever talk to him is to leave a message on his answering
machine, he's always out with friends enjoying his retirement. But most people
who reach 80 years of age don't have Dad's drive or his health.

I don't know the Noorda's. It is quite likely that they aren't as active as they
were 10 years ago. It's also likely that their memory may have suffered, and
that they might have let more control of the Family Trust devolve on Ralph Yarro
then they should have, and that he may not have been worth their trust. We don't
know.

It's also possible that their children are playing some sort of game - that they
don't have the best interests of the family trust in mind. Again, we don't
know.

What we do know is that actions like this are often nasty - very nasty, and that
no matter who wins the court case a lot of dirty laundry will get aired in
public.

It's a sad story, and probably going to get a lot sadder.

I'm prejudiced - nothing I have read in print has ever given me the warm fuzzies
for Ralph Yarro. In fact I've concieved a really nasty dislike of the man based
on his statements in several publications, so at present I'm leaning towards the
younger Noordas being in the right.

But we don't know. Let's do what we always do - research, research, research.
Possibly we can have a positive outcome on this suit as well.

And if not - well at least we will have tried.


---
Wayne

telnet hatter.twgs.org

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • I agree - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 02:19 PM EST
  • A sad story - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 02:45 PM EST
..try search for Yarro or _any_ other Board member at www.Trolltech.com ;o) N/T
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 03:28 PM EST
.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Darl's delimma
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 03:32 PM EST
There are now two factions warring for control of Canopy and SCO. The Noorda
faction controls the Canopy presidency and is trying to oust Yarro from
controlling the SCO board of directors. Ralph Yarro controls the SCO board of
directors and is trying to regain control of the Canopy presidency. Darl
McBride must choose to support the side that will ultimately win or else he will
be fired when the issue is settled. I think that the contenders are too
emotionally involved in the fight to tolerate a neutral Darl McBride. A neutral
Darl McBride would probably be fired by any winner.

-----------------
Steve Stites

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 03:42 PM EST
PJ, could you add a link to Canopy Financials in the side bar? House of cards
and all, y'know.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: Sunny Penguin on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 03:49 PM EST
"siphoning off at least $20 million via 'a series of self-dealing and
wasteful transactions.'"


How much did SCO-X pay "Da' Boise" to make false claims against
Linux?
Is this a match?

---
Just Say No to Caldera/SCO/USL/?

[ Reply to This | # ]

Might be at least a trilogy
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 04:51 PM EST
Or perhaps three books is not enough! Maybe nine parts (like the planned Star
Wars episodes) will do.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Self Dealing and Wasteful Transactions
Authored by: webster on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 05:11 PM EST
Can't wait until the third amended complaint!

---
webster

[ Reply to This | # ]

Get your Popcorn here!!!!
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 05:40 PM EST
"I'm not a guy who goes away quietly in the night. I fight," he says. "If you take something from me, if you break a promise, I'm going to come after you."-- Ralph Yarro, 2003-06-18

"We don't care how big you are. If you mess with us, we're going to take you on, even to our utter destruction, whatever occurs. We fear nobody, and we are respecters of no persons."-- Ralph Yarro, 2003-09-28

Yep ... this is going to be fun to watch.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Canopy jumping ship?
Authored by: rm6990 on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:34 PM EST
Could Canopy be realizing the mess this whole SCO fiasco is going to cause for
them, and that is the reason they deposed Yarro and are now sueing them, to try
to place the blame on him?

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we got ahold of Canopy's response and it stated how
Yarro siphoned off the money for use in SCO's phony lawsuits that lack evidence
in order to extort money from hundreds of corporations. I would love to see
SCO's stock price after this. Someone please get ahold of any relevant docs, I
wanna see!!! ;) Anyways, PJ, you start a new section for this case, this might
be interesting.

[ Reply to This | # ]

OT here please
Authored by: golding on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:38 PM EST
Seeing as nobody else put the thread up.

Post Mode: HTML Formatted

<A HREF="http://www.example.com">Clickable link</A>

---
Regards, Robert

..... Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun, but I have
never been able to make out the numbers.

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Ooops - Authored by: golding on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:43 PM EST
Is there a Guinness World Record for concurrent lawsuits?
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:03 PM EST
As Tobacco,Asbestos, and some drug related suits may have hundreds of concurrent
cases, it would have to be somewhat qualified before being subbmitted but I
still think this has potential.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Libel
Authored by: emmenjay on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:16 PM EST
We might need to be a little careful about the comments we make here.

There are speculations about things such as Mr Yarro's honesty. While most are
meant in fun, a libel lawyer might not see it that way. We know that Groklaw is
widely read and I'm sure that nobody here wants to get PJ (or themselves) into a
lawsuit.

[ Reply to This | # ]

  • Libel - Authored by: rm6990 on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:29 PM EST
    • Libel - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:57 PM EST
      • Libel - Authored by: PJ on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 03:56 AM EST
    • Libel - Authored by: PJ on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 03:55 AM EST
  • Libel - Authored by: blacklight on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:43 PM EST
    • Libel - Authored by: PJ on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 12:27 AM EST
    • Libel - Authored by: emmenjay on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 08:15 AM EST
      • Libel - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 10:04 AM EST
  • Libel - Authored by: PJ on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 12:22 AM EST
$20 million and the Paintblaster® 2000
Authored by: fudisbad on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:41 PM EST
Noorda et. al have accused Ralph et. al of siphoning off $20 million of Canopy.
Ralph and Co. are speculated to be the ones in true control of SCO, especially
when the lawsuits were filed. (After all, Canopy could tank the stock price at
any one time due to their large holding).

I wonder where that money ended up? Perhaps it was used up by the Paintblaster®
2000...

I'm going to see if I can find some documents.

---
See my bio for copyright details re: this post.
This subliminal message has been brought to you by Microsoft.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:21 PM EST
All we need now is allegations of marital infidelity, a love triangle, and
gunshots in the dark to turn this sorry sordid tale into a full-blown soap
opera.

[ Reply to This | # ]

The splatter factor
Authored by: tangomike on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 12:02 AM EST
It's great fun to imagine a connection between this litigation and TSCOG vs
Linux. Of course the odds are that this has little or nothing to do with TSCOG.
I say this because what I've seen on Groklaw about the Canopy web of corporate
connections suggests there's a lot more to the company than TSCOG, so there are
many connections that could have precipitated this dust up.

Nevertheless this does have an early look of turning messy and nasty, and that
would up the chances that some aspect of this affair, that is only peripheral to
it, turns out to impact heavily on the TSCOG thread.

I wonder if the IBM legal team just got an unexpected gift certificate,
redeemable when they win against TSCOG.


---
In a recent survey 87% of respondents thought TSCOG are greedy and dishonest.
The other 13% thought they are also stupid.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Odds are...
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 01:47 AM EST

The Yahoo stock quote message board won't display that news under the SCOX quotes. It's unfortunate that they don't display the negative SCOX news as readily as the seemingly positive SCOX news.

RS

[ Reply to This | # ]

Yarro et al Accused by Canopy of Siphoning Off $20 Million
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 03:44 PM EST
Can you say "soap opera?" I knew you could.

I wonder if Yarro et al will call Enderle as a character witness. And of
course, with anything that smells this bad, Anderer must be somehow involved.

[ Reply to This | # ]

100 million?
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 03:56 PM EST
It's really strange Yarro and friends should sue Canopy for 100 million dollars.
How could they have been damaged for that much by simply being fired? I doubt
that any of them was getting more than a million a year, even with stock
options.

[ Reply to This | # ]

Victory for Groklaw
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 31 2005 @ 07:47 PM EST
PJ you are awesome! You are neigh on invincible. The minions of SCO have done
nothing but burnish your creditbility. Now they set upon one another as their
passions have not dissipated as quickly as you have dissipated their FUD.

I pray that you can always stay so gentle, kind and faithful, and that
Groklawers can take a cue from your example.

[ Reply to This | # ]
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