The largest creditors in the Jockeys’ Guild bankruptcy case are two past national managers now involved in legal proceedings against the organization, and both have been selected as part of a five-member committee made up of creditors with significant claims against the Guild.
Dr. Wayne Gertmenian, who will chair the creditors' committee under the supervision of United States Trustee Scott Goldberg, is the Guild’s top creditor with a claim of $915,000 against the organization. Manley comes in second at $591,466, while Gertmenian’s Matrix Capital Associates consulting company ranks third seeking $156,000. Also named to the committee are two individuals whose involvement with the Guild goes back to Gertmenian’s tenure – Lloyd Ownbey Jr., a Guild lawyer from May of 2001 through November of 2005, and Piazza Donnelly Marlette, an accounting firm that worked for the Guild. According to documents in a chapter 11 case filed Oct. 12, Ownbey is owed $19,680 and Piazza Donnelly Marlette is owed $67,310.
The fifth member of the committee is former Guild attorney Robert Cantore of Gilbert and Sackman, his law firm that represented the Guild in a dismissed federal lawsuit against Gertmenian. The Guild has issued a lawsuit against Cabtore, owed $73,558, claiming he was negligent in protecting the organization’s financial interests.
According to Jane Limprecht, a public information officer with the U.S. Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program, it is usual for the seven largest creditors in a bankruptcy case to be appointed to such a committee.
“Creditors' committees can play a major role in chapter 11 cases,” reads documentation on the public record provided by the U.S. Courts Federal Judiciary system. “Among other things, the committee consults with the debtor in possession on administration of the case; investigates the debtor's conduct and operation of the business; and participates in formulating a plan.”
Limprecht said that, while the committee members are selected by the U.S. Trustee, participation in the committee is not mandatory and all individuals appointed to such a committee must be willing to serve.
The first meeting of the Guild creditors’ committee is scheduled for Feb. 11, at which time creditors will be permitted to question Guild representatives under oath.