A strange case gets even stranger: The Chicago Tribune says Zell’s attorney “explained that his client’s real aim in filing [these two suits] is to gain leverage in his attempts to persuade the creditors to settle their disputes.” At one time, there were four competing reorganization plans in a Delaware bankruptcy courtroom. Now it’s down to two, and what Zell has done is to file suits in Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court. He is acting in his capacity as a creditor in the three-year-old Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Tribune. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Oneal says “That Zell is suing alongside the creditors is ironic, given that as architect of the deal and chairman of Tribune Company’s board he has been a principal target of their ire throughout the bankruptcy saga.” He is suing for $225 million in “clawbacks” from Tribune’s former shareholders.