"Unfortunately, Madoff's victims have not received the benefits of Mr. Picard's services," Chaitman said in an e-mail.
Overlapping Claims
Picard opposes her right to sue the Picower estate, saying her claims overlap with his, which take priority as he is trustee. Moreover, if Chaitman wins the right to sue the Picower estate for her customers, and wins her suit, she may be choosing who gets the money. Only the trustee can claw back and allocate money allegedly stolen from Madoff customers, Picard has said.
Picard's claim to an exclusive right to sue for Madoff recoveries has embroiled him in a battle with California Attorney General Kamala Harris over investment adviser Stanley Chais's estate. Harris is trying to pursue a $270 million action against the estate, alleging Chais passed himself off as an "investment wizard" and collected fees for "doing nothing more than funneling all of his investors' capital into an epic Ponzi scheme."
Picard sued Harris Jan. 4 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, saying her suit interferes with the collection of assets needed to help compensate Madoff victims. A Manhattan court hearing is set for May 17.
Tremont Group
Madoff customers also have challenged Picard's $1 billion deal with Tremont Group Holdings Inc. and a $220 million settlement struck with the heirs of Norman F. Levy. Chaitman alleges that Levy, who died in 2005 at age 93, financed Madoff's Ponzi scheme to the tune of about $100 billion.
Picard also won't pay out any more from the customer fund without a "final unappealable decision" on whether he owes them not only the money they invested, but also the fictitious profit on their brokerage statements, according to his website.
The owners of the New York Mets baseball team, whom Picard had sued for $1 billion, were among those challenging Picard's calculation of how they should be paid, until they reached a $162 million settlement that doesn't require them to pay any money for at four years, if ever.
The U.S. Supreme Court delayed a scheduled conference on whether it will consider an appeal by Madoff customers who say they should be compensated for loss of profits reported on their brokerage statements until after May 25, when it wants the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to weigh in on the subject. Allowable claims would treble to $52 billion if the judges agreed with the customers -- Picard's current estimate of total fictitious profits in the Ponzi scheme.
The case is Picard v. Katz, 11-cv-03605, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).