Receiver Goes For New Rock & More
The bankruptcy lawyer looking into the demise of the old Rock & More is taking legal action against the new company because she believes it’s legally responsible for some of the debt.
Dr. Susi Pariasek, who has been looking at the affairs of Rock & More Veranstaltungs Gm since it was officially declared "Insolvenzdatei" in October 2006, filed suit against Rock & More Beteiligungs at the Austrian High Court in Vienna on October 31st.
A year ago she said wouldn’t be pursuing criminal charges against Rock & More’s Heimo Hanserl and Wolfgang Klinger because it wouldn’t be of any financial advantage to the old bankrupt company’s creditors. Now she believes she has sufficient evidence to show the new company benefited financially from work carried out and funded by the old one.
Rock & More Veranstaltungs Gm went down with debts in the region of euro 1.8 million and with only euro 120,000 in the coffers.
"Work on shows including Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and James Brown began before the new company had been established, which means it has benefited from contracts where the early work was done by the old company," Pariasek told Pollstar.
She wouldn’t say if the old company’s outgoings on the shows included the payment of deposits, but said she believes she has proof that the new company made money from appearances when the old bankrupt company – and thereby its creditors – had paid some of the initial costs.
As the new company took over the shows when these costs had already been paid, she says it would have made a greater profit because it didn’t have those outgoings.
Pariasek is asking the High Court to rule that the new company should repay the old company’s losses on the shows and the money be shared among the old company’s creditors.
She also says Rock & More’s Heimo Hanserl and Wolfgang Klinger could have done more to recoup money the old company was owed by working with partners in The Balkans.
"There are a number of receivables due from The Balkans but I don’t think they’re interested in trying to get them because they know the money would only go to the old company’s creditors," she explained.
"They would actually find it easier to get the money than I would as they are still in contact and even working with some of these people. It seems they’re happy to make that effort but only if a small percentage of the money goes to the old company.
"They want the new company to have most of the money as it’s the new company that would have to recover it."
At press time Klinger said he wasn’t aware of the new company being in receipt of a lawsuit, although a suit lodged in the Austrian legal system may take a week to reach the defendant, who then has a month in which to reply.
However, he denied that there were any shows where the old bankrupt company had paid the first outgoings and the new company had therefore made extra profit.
Klinger’s always maintained that he’s a consultant to Rock & More and as he’s not a director, he’s not responsible for the company’s financial business.
Pariasek disputes this and says his involvement is much closer, even to the point where he’s Rock & More’s representative on contracts and makes financial offers on the company’s behalf.
She says she expects the case will reach the Austrian courts in January at the earliest.
