Oracle suit put on the fast track

An lawsuit blocking Oracle Corp's hostile US$9.4 billion bid for rival PeopleSoft Inc will go to trial June 7, accelerating the timetable for a case that may reveal sensitive information about some of the world's biggest software companies.

US District Judge Vaughn Walker set the trial date in a Wednesday court hearing that also featured a fight to shield prized information collected by the federal government from two of Oracle's in-house attorneys.

The June 7 date means the pivotal trial will start two weeks earlier than Oracle and the Justice Department had requested in a court filing earlier this week.

Walker lawyers he is eager to get the trial completed so the losing side can make a likely appeal directly to the US Supreme Court. Walker plans to allot roughly a month for Oracle and the Justice Department to make their cases so he might be able to rule in July.

Pleasanton, California-based PeopleSoft already has rejected Oracle's US$26-per-share offer, but the bid might still entice the company's shareholders if Redwood Shores-based Oracle can prevail in the antitrust battle.

The most contentious issue in Wednesday's hearing centered on a motion demanding two of Oracle's in-house attorneys, Dorian Daley and Jeff Ross, be given copies of confidential data that the government collected from 33 companies during an eight-month investigation.

The government agreed that all the information should be turned over to Oracle's law firm, Latham & Watkins, but wants the flexibility to withhold some documents from Daley and Ross, citing the concerns of the companies that turned over the information.

Justice Department lawyer Bruce McDonald said some of the cooperating companies are worried about Oracle exploiting the confidential information to gain a competitive edge.

Oracle Daniel Wall argued his company would be at an unfair advantage if two of its own lawyers didn't have full access to the evidence.