Can the Amerks' finances be raided?
Just some quick thoughts on how the Rhinos' situation might now affect the rest of the Rochester Sports Group teams ...
One reader of this blog raised the issue of whether the Rhinos' debts will affect the finances of the Amerks and Knighthawks, and it's a very good point. The new Rhinos ownership says it won't honor the debts of the team's previous owners, DuRoss/Donner/Economides (DDE).
As a result, in order to get their money, these various creditors could go after DDE as individuals. However, if Steve Donner doesn't have any of the money personally, will he dip into the Amerks' and Knighthawks' finances to pay back his Rhinos debts?
I'm not even sure if that would be ethical or even legal, i.e. to pay one company's debts by raiding another company. However, many people believe Dinner has been co-mingling funds between the indoor and outdoor sides all along.
Now, there might not be anything ethically or legally wrong with that. However, at the very least it would reflect questionable accounting practices (and keep in mind that the RSG has lost several CFOs in recent years).
Or another possibility — would the Rhinos' creditors have the legal right to go after the finances of the Amerks and Knighthawks because of the indoor side's legal connection to the outdoor side via the corporation known as Rochester Sports Group?
But one fact is clear — if the indoor side's finances are diminished either way (by Donner doing it voluntary or the Rhinos' creditors seizing the indoor side's assets), it would be absolutely disastrous for the Amerks and Knighthawks, who are basically broke as it is (assuming this new mystery investor in the indoor side doesn't arrive in time or doesn't materialize at all).
This all touches on the murkiness surrounding the Rochester Sports Group as a legal and corporate entity. The Rochester Sports Group appears to have been created in September 2002, when the company Rochester Amerks Inc. filed a DBA (doing business as) with the Monroe County Clerk under the assumed name of Rochester Sports Group. (As a side note, the DBA was filed by Dan Dipofi, one of the teams' former CFOs).
But that still doesn't fully explain how, exactly, the RSG's outdoor and indoor sides are connected legally. For example, how was Rochester Amerks Inc. legally connected to Empire Professional Soccer LLC if at all? It's all somewhat of a mystery to me.
Along those lines, another question: Now that the Rhinos (and perhaps the Rattlers) have new ownership, what does that do legally for the corporation known as Rochester Sports Group? Does it just dissolve altogether?
Good questions ...
One reader of this blog raised the issue of whether the Rhinos' debts will affect the finances of the Amerks and Knighthawks, and it's a very good point. The new Rhinos ownership says it won't honor the debts of the team's previous owners, DuRoss/Donner/Economides (DDE).
As a result, in order to get their money, these various creditors could go after DDE as individuals. However, if Steve Donner doesn't have any of the money personally, will he dip into the Amerks' and Knighthawks' finances to pay back his Rhinos debts?
I'm not even sure if that would be ethical or even legal, i.e. to pay one company's debts by raiding another company. However, many people believe Dinner has been co-mingling funds between the indoor and outdoor sides all along.
Now, there might not be anything ethically or legally wrong with that. However, at the very least it would reflect questionable accounting practices (and keep in mind that the RSG has lost several CFOs in recent years).
Or another possibility — would the Rhinos' creditors have the legal right to go after the finances of the Amerks and Knighthawks because of the indoor side's legal connection to the outdoor side via the corporation known as Rochester Sports Group?
But one fact is clear — if the indoor side's finances are diminished either way (by Donner doing it voluntary or the Rhinos' creditors seizing the indoor side's assets), it would be absolutely disastrous for the Amerks and Knighthawks, who are basically broke as it is (assuming this new mystery investor in the indoor side doesn't arrive in time or doesn't materialize at all).
This all touches on the murkiness surrounding the Rochester Sports Group as a legal and corporate entity. The Rochester Sports Group appears to have been created in September 2002, when the company Rochester Amerks Inc. filed a DBA (doing business as) with the Monroe County Clerk under the assumed name of Rochester Sports Group. (As a side note, the DBA was filed by Dan Dipofi, one of the teams' former CFOs).
But that still doesn't fully explain how, exactly, the RSG's outdoor and indoor sides are connected legally. For example, how was Rochester Amerks Inc. legally connected to Empire Professional Soccer LLC if at all? It's all somewhat of a mystery to me.
Along those lines, another question: Now that the Rhinos (and perhaps the Rattlers) have new ownership, what does that do legally for the corporation known as Rochester Sports Group? Does it just dissolve altogether?
Good questions ...
posted by Ryan Whirty at
12:47 PM
3 Comments:
One thing is sure. The creditors are on the hook and won't be paid. Unless fraud or co-mingling of funds are involved. Someone is going away angry and that is why the lawyers are the ones that make out in this. If that clown who owns the Sabres pays pennies on a dollar to pay off something to the remaining creditors, there might be hockey in town next season but IU won't hold me breath.
By
Anonymous, at 4:12 PM
No wonder people think of the Rigas family in all of this mess.. it's either really really bad business, or a mess of illegal or unethical business.
By
bucky, at 9:01 PM
Finances have been mingling for quite some time. How else do you explain the formation of RSG? People that work for both sides indoor and outdoor and get one paycheck. The organization is all fouled up. And Donner I hear a Class Action brewing so you better pay up soon, Fatty!
By
Anonymous, at 10:50 AM
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