Enron plaintiffs move to keep firm from shedding its assets

HOUSTON -- A group of insurers among the plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against Enron wants to stop Arthur Andersen from selling off its assets as the accounting firm fights to raise cash.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon has set a Monday hearing on the request. Her ruling came hours after Andersen announced it was ready to send some of its U.S. tax partners and professionals to a rival firm in an effort to stay alive.

An Andersen source said Friday that layoffs are expected to come on Monday, but wouldn't say how many of the company's 85,000 worldwide workers -- including 28,000 in the United States -- will be affected.

Like hundreds of other In court, Galveston-based American National Insurance and several other insurers asked for an injunction to stop Andersen from selling assets or transferring them to foreign subsidiaries or affiliates.

The motion, filed last month, also seeks to bar Andersen from releasing partners and employees who quit the firm from noncompete agreements, which prohibit former workers from taking clients with them.