Edhat Staff
A new development surrounds the bankruptcy of the Santa Barbara News-Press with Wendy McCaw, the newspaper’s owner since 2000, being personally added to the legal complaint.
The case, presided over by Bankruptcy Court Judge Ronald A. Clifford III, now includes a direct legal challenge to McCaw over ownership of the newspaper’s historical De la Guerra Plaza building and its Goleta printing press facility, collectively valued at $28 million.
This move aims to address the financial woes of Ampersand Publishing LLC, McCaw’s wholly owned company, which declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2023. The assets, listed at under $50,000, fall drastically short of covering the liabilities, stated to be between $1 million and $10 million owed to over 200 creditors. Notably, among these creditors are over 40 employees who unionized under the Teamsters in 2006, now owed $3.6 million due to court rulings against the News-Press for various labor violations, with interests on these penalties continuing to grow.
The heart of the current legal argument led by bankruptcy trustee Jerry Namba involves transactions made in 2014, where McCaw transferred ownership of the two valuable properties from Ampersand to two other LLCs she owns. Namba, asserting he now represents Ampersand’s interests, claims these transfers breached McCaw’s fiduciary duty and seeks to void them.
The statute-of-limitations argument focuses on the nearly decade-old property transfers carried out without compensation to Ampersand, with the backdrop of McCaw’s reported personal wealth exceeding $1 billion. This argument mirrors the IRS’s 10-year statutory period, suggesting the trustee might successfully void the asset transfers.
The court will first address a motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations with a hearing scheduled for October 23.
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Some people are truly evil.
She purchased a Santa Barbara icon, chased away the honest journalist, sucked up its assets, and spat out an empty husk.
The worst part is, that if her case is ultimately heard by the US Supreme Court, her conviction will be overturned by corrupt justices captured by the Federalist Society.
Are you ready for the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 theocracy if Drumpf wins in November?
On-Line Voter Registration: https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote
A liar, a cheater, and a thief. Now wonder she endorsed Frump.
We’ll show her, let’s form a union! oooopppssss
Another example if the inequity wealth brings to the legal system. This duplicitous/fraudulent behavior has already made the outcome a winner for her. Disgusting person with disgusting values.