On appeal.

A lawyer for San Vicente Group, the bankrupt venture fund whose shareholders ousted management last year, said the company will appeal an L.A. Superior Court judge's decision to pay attorneys' fees for former managers.

San Vicente's estimated 100 shareholders alleged that company executives, including co-CEOs Christopher "Kit" Jennings and Jay Matulick, granted themselves "golden parachutes" and breached their fiduciary duty by enriching themselves at the expense of shareholders.

The lawsuit claims board members never paid for $8.2 million of shares that were bought back from two of the venture firm's companies --GlobalNetFinancial.com and New Media Spark, Plc--which had ties to San Vicente's old management team.

After a two-month trial in March, an advisory jury suggested that San Vicente Group be awarded $622,000 in damages. But Judge Anthony Mohr of the court's complex litigation department instead ruled in favor of the defendants.

No judgment has yet been entered, said Eric Maier, a lawyer for San Vicente Group at Gibson Dunn. When it is, the company will appeal, he said.

The current management group, made up of dissident shareholders, did manage to return $23 million to investors after ousting management last year. But the legal fight has been costly.

"By virtue of them spending so much on their legal fees, they've become the firm's largest creditor," said Peter Fuhrman, San Vicente's current chief executive.