Insurers seek injunction barring Arthur Andersen from shedding assets

HOUSTON (AP) -- As Arthur Andersen seeks to raise cash in its fight for survival, a group of insurers who are among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Enron is trying to stop the accounting firm from selling off its assets.

U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon has set a Monday hearing on the request. Her ruling came after Andersen announced a tentative agreement with Deloitte & Touche for a "significant" number of its U.S. tax partners and professionals to join the rival firm.

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.

Galveston-based American National Insurance and several other insurers have 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 if they join other auditing firms.

Andersen spokesman Patrick Dorton said the claim had no merit.