'Sorry, Judge, We'll Have It For You Next Tuesday. Promise.'

Anyone questioning that this settlement is in deep, deep trouble need look no further than today's fax to Judge Daniels from class counsel A.J. De Bartolomeo. The full text:

"I write on behalf of Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel regarding the filing of the papers in support of preliminary settlement approval of the Settlement as amended. At the July 19, 2005 status hearing, Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel advised the Court that we expected to file the motion by the end of the week. While we are mindful of the date Co-Lead Counsel told the Court, despite our best efforts to do so, we will not be able to file the papers with the Court until Tuesday, July 26, 2005."

Meanwhile, if you go to the "official" settlement website (http://www.copyrightclassaction.com) and click on the link "Request Exclusion" (opt out of the settlement), you get this note: "The exclusion filing deadline for the In Re Literary Works in Electronic Databases Copyright Litigation was July 15, 2005. Pursuant to court order, exclusions are no longer being accepted."

Good grief.