Arthur Andersen records sought in UnCover case

[Irvin Muchnick <irvmuch@yahoo.com>]

ARTHUR ANDERSEN�S ROLE
IN CLASS-ACTION COPYRIGHT CASE
SOUGHT IN SEALED COURT RECORDS

OAKLAND, California

The opening of records with information about the Arthur Andersen
accounting firm's role in the $7.25 million settlement of an authors'
class-action copyright infringement lawsuit is being sought here in United
States District Court.

Acting on behalf of freelance journalist Irvin Muchnick, San Francisco
attorney Roy S. Gordet filed a motion with Senior Judge D. Lowell Jensen
on May 13 for public access to previously sealed documents in Ryan v. CARL
Corp., a case settled two years ago. Muchnick, a former assistant director
of the National Writers Union, was later a consultant to plaintiff class
counsel in the Ryan case. The first class action of its kind in the
history of American jurisprudence, Ryan involved claims by freelance
magazine and journal authors against the owners of the UnCover
document-delivery service.

�We�re seeking to create a comprehensive public record of the distribution
of the multimillion-dollar Ryan settlement fund,� Gordet said. �My client
has written critically of Arthur Andersen�s performance as claims
administrator. The open portion of the case file indicates that Andersen
charged the class $500,000. A review of the sealed documents would help
answer the question, "Exactly what did writers get in return?"

Muchnick added: "We already know of at least one serious mistake by
Andersen during the processing of claims, and the firm�s connection to the
Enron scandal points clearly to the need for the highest level of public
scrutiny of everything else it has been up to. Without prejudging the
contents of these secret files, I'm from Missouri and I'm respectfully
asking the court to 'show me'."

Irvin Muchnick's writings about the Ryan case and related authors' rights
issues are collected at the website "Electronic Rights & Wrongs"
<http://www.geocities.com/irvmuch/home.html>.

The site table of contents can be viewed at
<http://www.geocities.com/irvmuch/contents>. Items there
include:

�"Arthur Andersen and Me"
<http://www.geocities.com/irvmuch/arthuran.html>

�Muchnick's letter to Judge Jensen (March 6, 2002) and
Judge Jensen's response (April 17, 2002)
<http://www.geocities.com/irvmuch/judgejen.html>

�The court motion of May 13, 2002
<http://www.geocities.com/irvmuch/motion.html>

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