Creditors to File Proofs of Claim Against ‘Santa Barbara News-Press’

The next step in the bankruptcy of Ampersand Publishing LLC — a k a the Santa Barbara News-Press — is the filing of Proofs of Claim, a step that occurs once assets are identified. At the time of the News-Press filing for Chapter 7 on July 21, the company claimed it had $532.96 in its checking account. It also owed more than $5 million to creditors, who ranged from employees, former employees, subscribers, and advertisers to utility companies — SoCal Edison is owed $176,915 — vendors, and co-publishers Arthur von Wiesenberger and Wendy McCaw, who claimed to be owed more than $1.4 million for a loan.

To their number has been added subscribers whose payments were automatically deducted from bank or credit-card accounts after the daily newspaper ceased publication. For anyone in that category, bankruptcy trustee Jerry Namba suggested that filing a Proof of “Administrative” Claim would put them in a priority category. The word isn’t part of Form 410 used for a Proof of Claim, but writing “administrative” at the top would work for this matter, the trustee indicated. The Bankruptcy Court at 1415 State Street, a building McCaw happens to own, can accept the Proof of Claim for filing in the case.

The Chapter 7 filing also listed $7,000 in office furnishings and equipment, $26,000 in artworks, and $79,000 in accounts receivable, with assets totaling $116,474. The giant press machine is built into the foundation of the plant in Goleta, value “unknown.” The bankruptcy would liquidate the “personal property” — in other words, anything that isn’t real estate — at both the downtown and Goleta locations.

During the creditors’ meeting on September 7, Namba and his attorney for the bankruptcy, Michael D’Alba of Danning Gill, sought to learn the locations of the artwork, photographs, past issues — which in the case of the News-Press could date back to 1868 — and the list of subscribers, both contemporary and past. McCaw was unable to answer most of the questions, deferring to her attorneys or former employees for the information.

On Thursday, Namba said he’d since learned from various people the locations of the paintings, the subscription list, the newspaper’s “morgue” of archived content, and intellectual property — the paper’s website has vanished from the web. As for liquidating them: “People have expressed interest,” he said, “but we haven’t negotiated any sale yet. It might go to an auctioneer.”

Although the claimants with administrative priority “should be getting some money,” Namba warned it wouldn’t be right away. And the general creditors would not receive anything until the end of the case. 

The next creditors’ meeting is tentatively scheduled for October 19.