Copia workers to get paid | Napa Valley Register

A judge in Santa Rosa has granted Copia’s request to pay workers at the bankrupt center for food, wine and the arts, which shut its doors last month after seven years of operation on the edge of downtown Napa.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Alan Jaroslovsky’s Friday ruling paves the way for employees who were on staff during Copia’s chaotic final days to be paid in full.

According to an e-mail sent to Copia employees Friday afternoon, Jaroslovsky delayed a ruling on a separate motion to authorize reimbursements to customers who had paid for classes at the center — classes that were subsequently canceled.

Copia Chairman of the Board Joseph Peatman sent an e-mail to former Copia employees stating Jaroslovsky “granted a motion authorizing the payment of our accrued wages and vacation. This allows us to legally do so without having to go back to court if we reach our anticipated agreement with ACA.”

Copia remains in negotiations with ACA Financial Guaranty Corp., the insurer for the banks to which Copia owes some $78 million, over details of the payout.

Peatman’s e-mail stated Copia and ACA “seem to be resolving this in a workable manner. We are optimistic that we have the framework of a plan to get you paid and are now focusing on the timing and mechanism. Our discussions likely will continue into next week before we reach a definitive agreement. I know this is hard, and I ask for your patience.”

Operations at Copia ground to a halt in mid-November, as efforts to sell the struggling center failed and leaders decided to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

A concert and movie were canceled with no notice, as were reservations for Julia’s Kitchen, the restaurant within the center. Employees, like patrons, found out about the cancellations shortly before the events were scheduled to take place.

On Dec. 1, Copia filed for bankruptcy.

An initial plan to continue operations while in bankruptcy collapsed Dec. 5 after Copia failed to secure approval for a $2 million line of credit. Peatman and Copia Chief Financial Officer Joe Fischer seek to liquidate the assets of the center.

The center’s property includes a building on 12 acres on the banks of the Napa River in Napa’s Oxbow District.

Neither Fischer nor Peatman could be reached for comment Friday.

2 comment(s)

elb wrote on Dec 20, 2008 12:56 AM:

" This is certainly good news but I wonder, will the employees also be getting paid the additional full days wages X's 30 days, up to $3000.00 for every day they went without their due wages according to the labor laws of California? "

napabob wrote on Dec 20, 2008 9:14 PM:

" elb,

You raise a good point. The COPIA employees can file a wage claim against COPIA with the California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement for their unpaid wages, unpaid vacation time, and unreimbursed expenses. The penalty for COPIA not paying the employees this total amount of money on the day they were terminated is one days pay for each day until the payment is made, with the limit being a maximum of one month's salary. Each employee may receive up to one month's salary in penalty for the delay in receiving their last check, there is no $3,000 cap on this amount. The penalty for late payment of the final paycheck is up to one month's salary. However since COPIA is in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, the employees will be lucky to even get their pay and accrued vacation pay at this point. Hopefully funds will be obtained to make the payments. It is unlikely that CA DLSE would even pursue the claim against COPIA due to its Chapter 11 filing. I haven't had the best of luck working with CA DLSE. I found that they work harder trying to find a reason for not handling the claim then they would actually handling it. Lazy lazy lazy employees in the CA DLSE field offices. A shameful waste of taxpayer money. "

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