Terra Firma-Citibank Trial a Real Circus

HERE COMES THE JUDGE (MENT): The Terra Firma-Citibank case, which pits Guy Hands’ U.K. private equity firm against his old buddy David Wormsley, will get underway in N.Y. on Monday, Oct. 18, and there promises to be some fireworks. The venue site already represents a victory for Hands, who argued to hold the case in N.Y. rather than the U.K., where he is only allowed to be a certain number of days a year because of his tax exile status. Hands’ attorney David Boies, whose high profile cases include defending Napster and, most recently, representing Dodger co-owner Jamie McCourt in her divorce trial with husband Frank, will undoubtedly try to paint Citi as the bad guys to the jury for misleading Terra Firma that there were rival bidders for EMI at the time of the acquisition. Gold Circle seats for the trial being offered by New Jersey scalpers come with a Hands-on meet-and-greet in the judge’s anteroom for $2k a day. As part of the package, Roger Faxon will give a personal tour of Elio Leoni-Sceti’s gold record collection, including an actual real silver-plated bucket. (10/6p)