Do you remember why I said that filing a Chapter 11 Bankruptcy was a gift to the musicians in the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra?
Yeah, neither do I.
But I did! And the reason I said that was simple: if the real reason to file a Chapter 11 was to deal with the pensions of the musicians, there's an easier way. File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for the Orchestra. Immediately form a new LLC, and buy the bundle of assets you want (the name of the Symphony, the list of ticket holders and buyers, the list of contributors, the list of musicians, and so on) out of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, from the designated Chapter 7 Trustee.
Then start a brand new Symphony Orchestra that is indistinguishable from the old one to the casual observer (that is, the new one will have the same name, the same list of patrons, the same musicians plus or minus a few, and the same venues, re-negotiated for better prices by the new entity). And no debt whatsoever to the musicians for the pension obligations of the old entity, which is now dark and disappeared.
And you know what?
The very next Symphony that filed a bankruptcy filed a Chapter SEVEN Bankruptcy, not a Chapter Eleven (it was the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra).
Yeah, neither do I.
But I did! And the reason I said that was simple: if the real reason to file a Chapter 11 was to deal with the pensions of the musicians, there's an easier way. File a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy for the Orchestra. Immediately form a new LLC, and buy the bundle of assets you want (the name of the Symphony, the list of ticket holders and buyers, the list of contributors, the list of musicians, and so on) out of the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, from the designated Chapter 7 Trustee.
Then start a brand new Symphony Orchestra that is indistinguishable from the old one to the casual observer (that is, the new one will have the same name, the same list of patrons, the same musicians plus or minus a few, and the same venues, re-negotiated for better prices by the new entity). And no debt whatsoever to the musicians for the pension obligations of the old entity, which is now dark and disappeared.
And you know what?
The very next Symphony that filed a bankruptcy filed a Chapter SEVEN Bankruptcy, not a Chapter Eleven (it was the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra).
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