In the latest, a petition has been placed in the Companies Court of the Chancery Division of the High Court in London seeking the rescinding of the liquidation of the Timespan Group and a subsidiary company under which the libraries changed hands earlier this year. The holding is presently being marketed by California company SPPN Images, which has been named as a respondent in the UK petition, as has New York entrepreneur Charles Bonan and four other individuals and one other company. The petition has been lodged by Olgun Halil Shah, former Chairman and CEO of the Timespan Group. In addition to damages and the rescinding of the liquidation, the petitioner seeks an injunction restraining any of the respondents dealing with the library and an order that the library and all its licences and intellectual property rights be returned.

The petition is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on November 10. It follows an action in California last month in which SPPN Images were awarded over $16m in compensation and libel damages against Halil Shah. The Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that Halil Shah had "no legal or equitable interest in the Sherman Grinberg Library" and additionally ordered that colourized newsreel material held on digital tape, said to be in the possession of Halil Shah, be returned or damages of $1.6m paid. Court papers record that a formal detailed answer to the various allegations by the defendant was "stricken from the record" because, having appeared before the court by telephone, he then failed to respond to discovery requests, and failed to appear at later hearings. SPPN Images says it will contest the London filing.