Thread: Judge calls Ornstein a liar
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Old 01-27-2008 | 06:48 AM
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Default Judge calls Ornstein a liar
Judge plays hardball — with fairness

By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer

It was a stunning rebuke of the high-flying corporate titan.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris had just ordered Mesa Air Group to pay Hawaiian Airlines $80 million for misusing confidential business information.

Now he was questioning the credibility of the Phoenix-based company's CEO, Jonathan Ornstein.

"I must say I did not not believe his testimony at that point," Faris said during a Dec. 13 hearing.

"I — I — I simply didn't believe that testimony."

The remarks raised eyebrows among courtroom observers, who had become accustomed to the judge's low-keyed and measured demeanor. But those who have known Faris well said they weren't surprised by the stinging criticism.

Since his appointment to the bench in 2002, the 49-year-old Faris has built a reputation in local bankruptcy circles as an even-handed jurist, who is willing to take on difficult issues.

In the Hawaiian and Aloha bankruptcies, he played hardball with management and organized labor to get them to settle disputes over pay, work rules and pension benefits.

He also took the unusual step of ousting Hawaiian's CEO John Adams after creditors accused Adams and his investor group of self-dealing. Faris later chopped down court-appointed trustee Joshua Gotbaum's bonus request from $8 million to $250,000.

"His reputation out there is that he is a very fair judge," said local real estate broker Steve Sofos, who was a creditor in a two-year-old bankruptcy dispute involving a local family-owned real estate company.

Mesa's Ornstein disagrees. Ornstein, whose company is appealing Faris' ruling, has said in recent news releases that Faris' "judgment was wrong."

"The order is not a result of a jury finding, but from a bankruptcy judge who entered sanctions against Mesa concerning evidentiary issues," Ornstein said in an Oct. 31 news release. "We believe these sanctions went too far and that an impartial appellate court will find the sanctions and this judgment should be set aside."

Read the full article here: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/BUSINESS/801270338/1071
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