Jardine Matheson's Unit Prepares Defense In Bear Stearns Suit
HONG KONG -- Jardine Strategic Holdings Ltd., having lost a bid to have a lawsuit by Bear, Stearns & Co. dismissed, is hiring an additional New York law firm so its current legal counselors can participate in Jardine's defense as witnesses.</br></br>Bear Stearns filed the suit, which seeks unspecified damages for its shareholders, in a Manhattan U.S. district court last December after Jardine Strategic withdrew from an agreement to purchase a 20% stake in the big U.S. investment house for $390 million. Jardine Strategic scrapped the offer, which began on Oct. 6, 1987, shortly after the stock market crash.</br></br>A Jardine Strategic official in Hong Kong said the New York law firm of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle has been retained because attorneys ordinarily can't appear as witnesses in cases they are litigating.</br></br>Debevoise & Plimpton, the law firm that handled the negotiations leading to the Bear Stearns agreement, will continue to work on the case in an advisory capacity, the official said.</br></br>Jardine Strategic is a 46%-owned affiliate of Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd., which has interests in financial services, engineering and construction.