A court order issued April 15th significantly narrowed discovery requests from Zeek Rewards' net-winners, granting the court-appointed Receiver's proposal. Judge Graham C. Mullen ruled after hearing arguments on April 14th regarding competing plans for how discovery should proceed in the ongoing clawback litigation.

The defendants, identified as top net-winners in the Zeek Ponzi scheme, had sought extensive discovery. Their requests included thousands of interrogatories, requests for admission, and over 500 depositions collectively. The Receiver countered that these demands were excessive and designed to delay and complicate the legal process, increasing costs.

Judge Mullen's order permitted the net-winners to take a collective total of 20 depositions. They are also allowed to propound up to 50 interrogatories collectively, with an additional five per defendant. The court's decision matched the Receiver's proposed limits exactly, denying the defendants' broader requests.

Net-winners must file their answers to the hearing by June 30th. All discovery in the case is scheduled for completion by February 28th, 2015.

The Receivership provided an update on claim processing on May 1st. Approximately 175,000 timely filed claims are under review. By May 9th, about 160,000 letters of determination were expected to be issued. Another 10,000 letters will follow before the end of May.

A few thousand claims require additional time for review due to conflicting information regarding claimed amounts. Letters for this group will be sent as quickly as possible. The Receiver plans to send letters to more than 95% of claimants within the coming weeks. A motion will be filed this month asking the court for permission to make an interim, partial distribution. The goal is to distribute an amount equal to 40% of each reconciled claim, utilizing the "rising tide" calculation method previously approved by the court. Distributions are estimated to begin in mid-summer.