Lawyering up

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

If we want to sue —a class action lawsuit?— we will need a lawyer. Is there a US lawyer among us, or someone who can connect us with a suitable one?

As to MRG’s CEO being a scammer or a con artist, I really do not think so. I ordered quite a few spaceflight, astronomy, and sci-fi related items from the MRG web site, and experienced zero shenanigans, got the goods I purchased promptly and the goods I received were as advertised, making me a satisfied customer. MRG are legit creators of specialty, quality collectibles.

I do think MRG’s CEO got played —and all of us as a consequence— by one or more investors into (and/or) owners of MRG. The CEO made some mistakes but acted in good faith, but because he believed the lies he was being told, the project costs mushroomed, and the company ran out of money.

I suspect, much to my chagrin, that most if not all of our money is gone. But some salvage-worthy things may still be in there. I could be wrong, but I think we may stand a better chance of recovering whatever can still be salvaged if we have MRG’s CEO on our side and working with us.

Philip van Nedervelde

[Richard Harris]

Hi Steve.

I completely disagree. Steve Dysmzo's first email about Master Replicas bankrupcty is filled with contradictions and statements that make absolutely no sense. And his bad reputation truly proceeds him. Just read that RPF.com message board that was linked prior. It's unreal. It goes back many years. A pattern of behavior of not delivering products. 

He was banned from that Replica Prop Forum website prior to the current Hal 9000 fiasco. And if he did nothing wrong? Why would he resign from his own company? He would still be the CEO of Master Replicas currently and overseeing the bankruptcy. 

The other Master Replica products were not some gigantic windfall in sales. They were not in great demand from what I have heard. If the dinosaur and aerospace replicas had sold well? Master Replicas would not have had to declare bankruptcy. What does a resin claw cost to cast? A $1.00? The Hal 9000 was Master Replicas real hit product. It probably saved Master Replicas from declaring bankruptcy 2 years ago. How much of the funds from the Indiego fundraiser were used for old debt that Master Replicas have? Did Steve Dymszo pay himself back due pay for example?

Steve claimed Master Replicas Group was his dream and his last company prior to retiring. If so, why would he allow his relatives to seize control of his company? Did his family betray him? Who is running the company now? And why would he fire all of the staff before he fired himself? If he had lost control, he wouldn't have been able to fire all of Master Replica's staff.

The Hal 9000 replica shown in the Indiego fund raiser, on Youtube and at conventions and in photographs was completed. The prototype was completed. So that means the masters, patterns, molds, digital files etc. were all completed and ready for manufacturing. All that appeared necessary to complete were the internal electronic components, which are not exacty rocket science.

Dymszo claims that he was not really involved in overseeing the Hal 9000 project. Then claims he had detailed involvement. Are we really supposed to believe that Steve Dymszo as CEO did not care about the Hal 9000 project and a 650K Indiego Funraiser? Really? It would be the number one priority for everyone who worked at Master Replicas due to the tremendous amount of money raised. Which far exceeded the $80,000 they originally were trying to raise.

The truth is Master Replicas and it's owner Steve Dymszo represented that the Hal 9000 project would cost $80,000.00 to complete. Not $650,000.00. The customers came through and funded an additional $470,000 in funds to complete the project and yet all that money, and 2 years delivered nothing. The odds are they saw that giant amount of money and most likely realized they might never see that amount of money again in their lifetimes and cashed-out. Which appears to happen all of the time on these fundraiser platforms.

I don't think a class action is the way to go at all now. After extensive research, including the current Anovos class action lawsuit. The way to go is a lawfirm based in the area where Master Replicas operated and going after Master Replicas and its founders directly to see really what happened, how the money was spent down to the penny and to represent the customers in bankruptcy court. Retain them. Customers who can chip in. Find out how far the project got to. The Hal 9000 research, masters, molds, patterns, scans, digital files etc. are all now owned by Warner Bros. due to the bankruptcy. Master Replicas has to hand them over to Warner Bros. These materials need to be located asap and protected for the Hal 9000 customers interests. Technically the customers own those materials as they funded them. 

Working with Steve Dymszo would not serve the customers in my opinion in the slightest. Warner Bros. should be contacted immediately and the goal should be to locate and protect the Hal 9000 product masters and all the R & D should be job 1. And find out what really happened behind the scenes with those 2 companies that Master Replica's burned.

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[Brian Cain]

A responsible CEO, regardless of the condition of the company, would not send such a half crazed, rambling email to backers.  Dude, obviously has a few issues

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[Richard Harris]

Nor would he be privately selling off Master Replica Group assets during a bankruptcy.

[Lukaz]

In any case, Steve Dysmzo's email to backers as ex CEO is a glaring contradiction to all the email updates his company, under his control, sent to backers over the years...

[Ken Wiebe]

I agree.

The Number One question should be, "What happened to the $650,000 which was raised FOR THE REPLICA PROJECT?"

(not for MRG's "general fund")

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"Ne te quaesiveris extra"  --Persius

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Steve Dyszmo evidently made some big mistakes. 

The point you are missing is that I am convinced that he did not intend and deliberately set out to defraud, scam, or con all of us with the HAL9K replica. And, importantly, I think he genuinely tried hard to keep us whole (but failed) and he STILL wants to do what he can to set things right. I think it is worth a shot to hear him out further and see what he has to say with regard to options for salvaging what’s salvageable. What do we have to lose in seeking a constructive conversation with him?

In my understanding, the things he offered for sale are pieces from his own personal collection.

If you don’t want to talk with Steve, fine, so be it. I just thought we should leave no stone unturned in trying to find some solution.

Who is leading the effort here? What’s the plan? What help does this person need?

Philippe 

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[Ken Wiebe]

What do people here think of establishing a presence and a relationship with crowdjustice.com?

https://crowdjustice.com

I am not sure where it would lead, exactly.  But it looks like an approach that might be suited to our problem.

I would be willing to get that started depending on feedback here.

Ken

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[Lukaz]

You have to understand that even if an enterprise was not initially setup as a fraud or scam, does not preclude such enterprise from perpetrating frauds and scams out of incompetence, greed, or other factors. He is at the very least complicit on the activities his company perpetrated. The line between 'mistakes' and 'fraud' is pretty blurry when you are the one pocketing the money for your 'mistakes'.

[Brian Cain]

At this point it sounds like one of us needs to contact a lawyer that has knowledge in this area.  If someone wants to do some initial legwork and find one or more lawyers to contact I’m happy to act as the go-between.  I can write out a email and submit a draft here for us to approve before sending.

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[Lukaz]

Not sure if 'crowdfunding' is a good method to combat a 'crowdfunding' scam. I think the first step is for all of us to organize and contact all the websites that promoted this product over and over, as well as all the agencies that investigate this type of crimes. 

[Clyde Wilson]

Legal council in the open for us all would be a great start I think.  

If there is an agreed upon professional that can have their credentials confirmed online in a way that can satisfy evreryone here as to that person's validity before they are contacted then someone (or more than one of us) could reach out to them and ask them to communicate through this group what our options are.  But there are options of more than one kind.  

They will likely want to be paid to even talk to us, if so they will need to let us know how to pay in a way that it is mutual between all members and safe since I know I am not alone in finding it harder to trust people now more than ever.

If we can get that far we can at least find out if there is any action that we feel is worth investing more time and money in.  

Wether is is a crowd justice company or whatever I am sure we all want to know we aren’t getting scammed again.  (I have only dealt with one lawyer in my life and that was one time more than I would like).  After that, we find out what they want for their council (or even if it is worth their council), decide how to secure their services and have them provide it to the group.  We can ask them how we can organize and have a coordinated and controlled interaction so that we can all benefit form their services without potential chaos.

The first step would be to see if it is agreed that council is the way to go, next would be to provide a list of possibilities and then likely a vote as to who we may feel safest with.  Next an agreement on who would be the contact person or people.

Clyde

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[Lukaz]

Bear in mind that this guys probably already 'used' all our money for other purposes, so all there is left may be the worthless stock of product. 

[Richard Harris]

I disagree. The Hal 9000 research and development, masters, patterns, molds, digital files, etc. have significant value. Who was the factory in China, and who has those materials now? Were any parts produced? Where are they now? The Warner Bros. 2001 license also has significant value. The Hal 9000 customers are not currently listed as creditors in the bankruptcy and that will be crucial. Most likely this was left out of the bankruptcy on purpose in order for the customers to not have a say during the bankruptcy proceedings. When the customers are the # 1 creditors of Master Replicas Group / Steve Dymszo. The best bet is to form a Hal 9000 consumer advocacy group (like an association) and write a letter to the Federal Judge informing him or her of what occured and try to become a formal creditor. The chapter 11 may be pushed into a chapter 7 and Master Replicas liquidated. While there is still time, the court needs to be contacted and fully informed.

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[Marc Teerlink]

Great point Clyde - I am in support of this approach : sadly not in the position (time) to coordinate 

 Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 19, 2020, at 18:30, 'Clyde Wilson' via HAL 9000 Replica <hal-9000...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Legal council in the open for us all would be a great start I think.  

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/49C29FC2-6DD6-4E37-993F-7CEA963D56AE%40yahoo.com.

[Lukaz]

You have more faith on the capacity of this people than I do. By parsing his email I got the impression that all there is left after burning more than $650K is a bunch of CAD files for some 'cases', deemed 'Not manufacturable as designed' by the factory. Stuff like the Warner Bros license will be probably void due to breach of contract. I sure hope you are right and there is something left!!

This product should have been really easy to manufacture, there is nothing that required any significant research or development, one version was a case with a bluetooth speaker, and the other was a case with LED buttons and a Raspberry Pi-like board.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Worth a shot, Ken. I support your proposal. — Philip

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[Clyde Wilson]

ditto  Ken.  Three so far.

Ken

Philip

Clyde

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[Marc Teerlink]

Make that 4

 Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 19, 2020, at 19:49, 'Clyde Wilson' via HAL 9000 Replica <hal-9000...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

ditto  Ken.  Three so far.

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[Richard Harris]

What I am suggesting is the customers have more of a claim to the Hal 9000 project at this point than any entity. As they funded the project and have the most to lose.

The factory in China knows what really happened. They should be easy to track down. And they most likely have the Hal 9000 masters still on hand. Master Replicas after 2 years and filing bankruptcy can not be trusted. And Steve Dymszo has shown he can not be trusted as he could not deliver when he was the CEO. The project collapse happened on his watch.

Warner Bros. does not want any bad P.R. from this mess. All they have to due is allow the product to be manfactured and delivered to the customers. I do not believe what Dymszo has claimed. I think there are issues that have not been revealed to date that will show what really happened behind the scenes when it comes to how the 650K (more than 1/2 a million dollars) was spent. As has been written this product was not that complicated. Something else happened that we do not know about yet. A lawyer can help find that out.

A class action will not work. A lawfirm or even a single lawyer based near where the bankruptcy hearings are taking place will. Even if a minor amount of money was chipped in to secure a lawyer to represent the customers, it would result in having representation to represent the 650K investment in the project. The goal should be to find and secure the R & D and masters. Look how good the prototype appears in the promo video.

As more customers continue to find out they have been burned, they are going to join in. There were how many customers? 650? There is strength in numbers.

What most likely happened was that 650K rolled in, and the outsourced vendors including Acme (who I still think either created the original concept for the product or prototyped it) and the factory in China (which was supposed to manufacture it) got pissed off when they were not paid after seeing that windfall raised. This is all smoke and mirrors.

I am willing to chip in to fund hiring a lawyer in PA. So count me in too.

[Richard Harris]

Hi  Philippe,

With all due respect I disagree with you. Steve Dymszo was either ousted from Master Replicas or jumped ship once the 650K was all gone. He is no longer the CEO/President of Master Replicas so does not even have a say (he claims himself) in how the company is managed at this point. If what he has claimed is true? That will be revealed. If isn't? He has liability.

The goal is to have representation as a lead creditor in the bankruptcy hearing. And to find out what happened through the other creditors such as Acme and that retail sales consultant. They know what really happened or they are involved in the conspiracy, if any.

The Federal Bankruptcy Judge needs to be made aware of what has happened as he can demand that the truth be revealed. Job #1 is finding a cheap attorney to represent the 650K investment and find out what happened to the funds.

 

On Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 11:00:47 AM UTC-7 Marc Teerlink wrote:

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Hi Richard,

Agreed on finding a lawyer. Never go for the cheapest because with lawyers too, you get what you pay for.

As to Dymszo, what do we have to lose to hear him out on the assumption he wants to do the right thing and partially redeem himself? At the very least, he could help us by giving us the contact details of those who are in possession of whatever might be salvageable. He can help us make an inventory of remaining assets, their nature, location, etc. Even if just for that, reaching out to him is worth a shot. All we are offering him is to redeem himself by being part of the solution rather than (only) the problem.

Philip

 

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[Lukaz]

You have to understand the retaining a firm with expertise in this matter will cost thousands and thousands of dollars just to get off the ground. I would suggest to start with something actionable like mobilizing the group to put some pressure on the media outlets that promoted this campaign as well as the agencies that work on this type of cases.

[Richard Harris]

Because he has already proven that he contradicts himself repeatedly. And there really can't be any margin of error on information at this point. No more spins, lies, pointing fingers etc. Just straight facts.

Master Replicas Group and Steve Dymszo wanted to raise 80K and the customers came through and provided 650K. That is a massive spread. Where did the money go???

And why did Dymszo fire the staff of Master Replicas Group and resign if the company was going into a Chapter 11 restructuring??? That is the last thing any CEO/President who cared would do.  

And what about his statements that Master Replicas Group was going to be his final company before retiring and was his dream? He wouldn't have allowed the control of his company to be taken over (including by relatives or supposed partners) if that was the case. We have no idea if this entire thing is a ruse to try and protect and hold onto what may be left from the 1/2 million dollars. Is it now a retirement fund for Steve Dymszo? Did he think to himself "There is no way on Earth I will ever see this amount of cash again in my lifetime" ???

The Federal Bankruptcy Judge can get to the bottom of all of this. I'm not recommending hiring a cheap attorney, but enough money has already been invested as we know. But if just 100 customers (of the 600) chipped in just $50 that means there would be enough funds to hire a business attorney (at a $5000 retainer) to try to get to the bottom of all of this quickly.

I think the reason why the 650K is not mentioned in the bankruptcy is to the Judge does not take a closer look at what really happened behind the scenes. The truth is going to be revealed at those hearings if the Judge demands it. They have major power during the bankruptcy proceedings.

On Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 11:49:43 AM UTC-7 Philippe van Nedervelde wrote:

[Richard Harris]

 "He can help us make an inventory of remaining assets, their nature, location, etc. Even if just for that, reaching out to him is worth a shot. '"

The Federal Bankruptcy Judge can demand this information. They are not stupid. They are going to want to know what happened to all of that money. How it was spent? Where did it go? The Trustee can review the financials of Master Replicas Group and track down the money. And they can actually demand the return of it if any fraud was engaged in. 

This does not need to be some giant court ligitation. There just needs to be a basic business attorney present in the bankruptcy hearing representing this consumer group. To address the bankruptcy Judge.

Warner Bros. can approve the product being made in China and shipped out in order to make the customers whole again. It's the factory in the Orient that can make the Hal 9000's. Not Master Replicas Group. They are kaput. They may be forced into a Chapter 7 liquidation as soon as the 650K debt is raised. We know Indiego took their % off the top of the money raised. Was Warner Bros. paid it's % licensing fee? If not, why are they not listed in the bankruptcy?

The attorney needs to contact Warner Bros. and the other creditors to find out what the heck happened?

[Richard Harris]

Hi Lukaz,

Needs to be both. Pressure from consumers via the media and legal representation. A small local firm in PA, USA retained. This is administrative legal representation mostly. Does not need to be some giant process. The lawyer needs to know that. No small claims as only the lawyers make $ in the end and the customers will get pennies on the dollar. 

In my opinion the goal should be to set precedence when it comes to how public fund raisers are run. Bring in the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to help protect consumers by pushing to change existing laws, or create new protective laws, such as checking out campaign organizers prior to fundraisers being launched. Steve Dymszo had already been banned for undelivered products in the past going back many years. He had also been ousted or resigned from numerous collectible companies according to various message boards that collapsed. He never should have been allowed to raise money on a public fund-raiser platform. This approach will help hopefully with the media coverage.

Anyway, these are my suggestions. Will stand by and wait to see what you all come up with.

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[James Scott]

Hi Richard,

Your reasoning is sound. I think legal representation of this group in the bankruptcy proceeding combined with targeted pressure through the media is the only way forward that stands to yield any remedy.

Mr. Dymszo should not be directly communicated with in relation to this matter as it will be up to the bankruptcy judge to determine the legitimacy of Mr. Dymszo's assertions. This process must take place with full knowledge of the circumstances, thus the necessity that this group and its interests are properly represented.

I would be very happy to chip in $50-100 to see this happen.

James

[Lukaz]

'Lawyering up' sounds great, but I still would like to do something concrete if that hope doesn't materialize.

[Richard Harris]

Perhaps a small 501c non-profit foundation could be formed, dedicated to changing the laws when it comes to public crowdfunding websites, in order to protect consumers nationwide. Or just dedicated to making the customers here whole on what they ordered. So that any $50 donation from customers is a tax right off? 

The thing about these crowdfunding websites is their user agreements do not protect we the consumers. They make us waive our protective rights off when we sign up and donate to a campaign. However, that may not be reasonable in the eyes of the Federal Trade Commission, as entities such as IndieGo and Kickstarter etc. enable these campaigns to engage in possible fraudulent activity. These platforms sanction the campaign organizer with credibility to consumers, then these entities take their % on the monies raised off the top with no accountability whatsoever. It's paramount to fraud and collusion.

Just like Uber and Lyft were just forced to consider their drivers as employees and not independent contractors. The Internet is still a new frontier. Laws will be revised and changed accordingly.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Instead of going around for $5K or so to retain a suitable lawyer in PA, given the $650K involved, might we find a lawyer there willing to take on the case on a 'no cure no pay' basis? Meaning that the lawyer/lawfirm gets their pound of flesh (from us) IF -and only if- they succeed in retrieving significant parts of that $650K on our behalf? At least this way we are not losing yet more money if the lawyers cannot or do not find anything salvageable.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/077d733b-589f-494a-8a7d-c11e8957aa76n%40googlegroups.com.

[Lukaz]

That's how class actions work, but unfortunately no firm will touch this case on that basis. Not much to bite.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Can one of us represent us for getting in touch with WB's legal dept. and liaise with them as to what concerted actions to take, if any?

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[Lukaz]

WB's legal dept will not engage publicly unless instructed by above.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

So not worth reaching out to WB legal? If so what *can* we do to make WB move and get involved?

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/c1b590d9-de69-454b-a55f-7659e32147a6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Lukaz]

I'm sure WB legal is aware, that's why I created a Conversation (Ideas to mobilize the group) so we can explore realistic ideas on how to use the power of the group to put some pressure on all the parties involved.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Right. Which is great. So...  what exactly *can* we do to make WB move and get involved?

What harm could we do to our case by reaching out to WB's legal dept, for a start?

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/1e2cd9e8-9d85-42b5-b9a3-10dafdeda523n%40googlegroups.com.

[Richard Harris]

If the media pressure on public fundraising platforms as Lukaz is suggesting works, yes, it is possible a lawfirm (actually a larger one) may come on board, on contingency, if they think they too can get press representing the customers as a history precedent setting case. They due take on cases pro-bono (for free) if they think they can get attention from the case and thus obtain larger potential clients later. But their would have to be a very special approach taken on what laws should be put into place and/or revised.

[Lukaz]

You are free to do so (le...@wb.com), they will not reply unless instructed to do so by a higher rank. If we are not able to work as a group to even send emails, I doubt we will be able to get the $5k to $10k that we will need to retain a firm.

[Richard Harris]

That would depend on where the money went and can it be tracked down and recovered. But I still say the product is what matters at this point. What is its exact status? Who was going to manufacture it? Where are the masters, patterns, digital files etc. WB may sanction the product being completed to satisfy the customers. The Anovos class action lawsuit pressured the studios to support the customers but did not result in a large cash settlement. I don't think there is money to be recovered unless the BK court finds that there was fraud engaged in by Master Replicas Group and it's executives. Then it can absolutely be recovered if it exists. And/or their is significant personal legal liability for all of the executives - cofounders if fraud was engaged in. The corporation will not protect them. 

[Richard Harris]

Warner Bros. legal and licensing is most likely already reading this groups posts. They absolutely care about social media backlash across the board. They don't want negative PR out there especially from fandom consumers. Nor in the press.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

Why only knock on the front door of WB though? Anyone here have a 1st line LinkedIn contact at WB? We have more resources than we realize. Via LinkedIn, connections, one can often find informal, unofficial, side door access to parties that may have a daunting front door.

I have good contacts in US tech media. If mandated by this group to reach out to them, I could do so.

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[Richard Harris]

Whomever formed this group, if they would consider being the representative of the group that would help. Or whomever the administrator is or are. I'm sorry I don't know who that is currently. But it would be advisable to have a point person or point persons to formally represent the customers here to speak to Warner Bros. etc.

A letter / email from the group sent directly to the Bankruptcy Judge could also be written and that may help. In the event no lawyer is retained to represent the group. That is a good possible option. Unless I am mistaken, there are already 72 members here, and that is a decent amount.

[Philippe van Nedervelde]

If WB are reading all this (and even if not) and if they indeed career about reputational damage in social media, why do they then not reach out to (one of) us to start backchannel communications towards finding some kind of resolution that keeps them and us as whole as the situation allows? Maybe WB are waiting for (one of) us to reach out to them?

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[Richard Harris]

Yes, I agree. WB will wait and see how this all unfolds. They will hope that the customers are winded and all of this just dies down and goes away. Just like Master Replicas Group. But they are all watching this message group like hawks to see what the customers are going to go next. 

I was just making a suggestion on donating $50 to hire a lawyer in P.A. Don't have to go that route. As I wrote, just a letter email to the Judge may really help. Bring all of this to their attention. At least get all of this on the record of the bankruptcy. You can get 3 years in Federal Prison for engaging in bankruptcy fraud. Happens all the time. People who filed hiding assets, having stolen funds etc. So would be good to at least get on the record and advise the Judge. Their going to be shocked when they see that that 650K vanished the way that it did.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/CA%2BJZKnhFhhQ1zCrVZ1QODH_M8wqkMbqOeor%2BsyB4oo8cYiJfHg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Gregory Reed]

I'm in Richard.

[Ken Wiebe]

I'm the one who started this group.  I want to thank everyone here for the good discussion taking place.

If we don't get a lawyer involved, I am hesitant to become the "point person" for further action, due to my availability.  In my opinion, it would be better to get a lawyer on board as this would relieve the time pressure, among other benefits.

I do have at least some time available, and if we can't get a lawyer on board I might consider trying to be the point person.  But I would need a lot of help from others if that happens (I wouldn't want anyone to think "Ken's got this now").  For example, writing a letter to the judge.

If there's a lawyer I would unhesitatingly volunteer to be the point of contact for the group.

I really think we need to get a lawyer.  I almost got a crowdjustice.com site set up, but part of the process is having a lawyer the funds go to.  So in my opinion the sequence should be:

1. Find a lawyer and engage for initial discussion (this might be cheap-ish)

2. If that goes OK, perhaps open up the crowdjustice.com for retaining the lawyer

3. Retain the lawyer to act as we discussed in step 1, using the raised funds

4. Work with the lawyer so he/she can advocate for us as necessary

Ken

[Philip Raciti]

I can’t support with time but I can with a contribution. +1 on getting proper representation. 

On Aug 20, 2020, at 1:44 PM, Ken Wiebe <gv.k...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/hal-9000-replica/8b1c5033-aa52-4417-af9f-e5b08f1c6307n%40googlegroups.com.

[Lukaz]

As I previously stated, I believe talking about having legal representation is a dead end. We won’t be able to afford it.

Unlike UBER, Apple or the likes of, Master Replicas is just a small company driven into bankruptcy. As far a legal representation, it has the appeal of a rotten fish, so we will have to 'crowdfund' thousands of dollars just to get started. Without getting into the practicalities that we won't even know if the remote representation has MR ties, or that there is no light at the end of that tunnel: our money is gone, the license will be gone, and the cad files are cheeper than the legal representation.

In any case,  will support the group, and I will put myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do...