Wilpons get reprieve from lawsuit

With mediation under way, lawyers for the New York Mets' owners and the trustee in the Bernard Madoff case have put off a scheduled courtroom confrontation for two weeks.

Attorneys for Fred Wilpon and the other owners of the team are seeking to get their hands on evidence trustee Irving Picard used to build his $1-billion lawsuit against them. The Wilpons said they needed Picard's material to defend themselves against charges they illegally took profits from Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

The fact that the case is now under mediation before former Gov. Mario Cuomo adds more urgency to their request for evidence, the Wilpons said in court filings. This also signaled the renewed effort to reach a settlement is in progress.

Picard has made clear through his lawyers that he thinks the Wilpons don't have a legal leg to stand on and was prepared to do battle in Manhattan bankruptcy court this morning over the issue.

No reason was given by the Wilpons' attorneys for the delay until March 8. Picard's counsel David Sheehan didn't return a telephone call for comment.

Sheehan in previous court filings has alleged that the Wilpon attorneys have tried to do an end-run around normal court procedures to find out what witnesses told Picard's investigators.

Picard filed his lawsuit against the Wilpons and their partners in December, alleging they knew or should have known about Madoff's fraud. Additional court papers filed Wednesday give Picard until March 18 to add new allegations to his complaint.