EDC forms ‘litigation subcommittee’ to oversee 38 Studios lawsuits

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer
Twitter: @andersonpbn

PROVIDENCE – A three-member “litigation subcommittee” was created by the R.I. Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors Monday night to oversee legal efforts to recover taxpayer funds lost from the failure of 38 Studios LLC.

No members of the panel were appointed Monday night and the Board, which authorized Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, chairman of the board, will choose who will be on the subcommittee.

Chafee did not provide a precise timeline for naming members of the panel, but told reporters he expected that appointments “will be fast.” He did not say whether any members of the EDC Board would sit on the subcommittee.

The subcommittee will work with lawyers from law firm Wistow & Barylick, which was retained in June to explore potential avenues for lawsuits against parties connected with 38 Studios and the $75 million state-backed loan the video-game company defaulted on this spring.

The creation of the subcommittee was announced after a closed-door meeting of the EDC Board.

Chafee declined to discuss who, including 38 Studios founder Curt Schilling, might be a target of a potential lawsuit or on what legal grounds the state could pursue compensation.