In the face of the devastating upset handed the Justice Department last week, PeopleSoft continues to refuse to meet with its unwanted suitor Oracle.

In an immediate public statement it only said that its board would review the "implications" of the court's decision to toss the DOJ's suit to block any Oracle takeover out on its ear and reiterated that that Oracle's $7.7 billion $21-a-share offer was inadequate. It told its employees it would continue to fight, claiming that antitrust issues were never the "centerpiece" of its resistance.

PeopleSoft's next line of defense is the $2 billion suit it brought against Oracle claiming its attentions were meant to disrupt its business. The trial starts on November 1.

Its fallback position includes a possible DOJ appeal, whose odds of succeeding are deemed pretty dim, and a Oracle-blocking decision by the European regulators, whose options may have been limited by the strength of last week's district court ruling.

Europe's objections according to the Wall Street Journal, which saw its confidential statement of objections, pretty much mirrored the DOJ complaint that a PeopleSoft takeover would leave only an Oracle-SAP duopoly.

Meanwhile, Oracle is talking to PeopleSoft's institutional investors and people close to the PeopleSoft board in an attempt to draw the company to the bargaining table. It is assumed Oracle will have to raise its bid although the Journal has started calling PeopleSoft "damaged goods" because its business is off and its stock is down thanks to the takeover fight.

Oracle, which previously offered $26 a share before PeopleSoft obviously started to weaken, is supposed to appear in court in Delaware on October 4 to try to dismantle PeopleSoft's poison pill defenses.

If Oracle gets its way, it will also dismantle PeopleSoft's sales and marketing and R&D and fire half of its 12,000 people.