An excerpt from the article in question.
Owners of Tivoli Theatre facing Nutcracker Lawsuit
(YourHamiltonBiz.com, Saira Peesker, March 20 2013)
The owners of the Tivoli are facing a $50,000 lawsuit from the City of Hamilton. The not-for-profit Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble owes $48,593 for the use of Hamilton Place during its 2011 production of The Nutcracker, according to a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court on Feb 15.
The claim, filed by Hamilton Entertainment and Convention facilities Incorperated (HECFI), states the ballet group failed “to pay all costs and expenses agreed to” when it used Hamilton Place for the 2011 incarnation of its annual production.
At the time, HECFI was the arms-length agency that managed the City’s large entertainment facilities. The legal action is being handled by City lawyer Colleen Robertshaw.
According to the filing – which has not been proven in court – the production cost $184,238.55 and brought in $135,645.19, leaving the ballet group on the hook for the outstanding shortfall of $48,593.36.
“CBYE has not made any payments to HECFI,” it says.
Robertshaw was unavailable for comment when contacted Tuesday, but on Wednesday, City spokesperson Debbie Spence said “the debt is being pursued in the normal course of events pursuant to a rental agreement.”
Attempts to contact the organization were unsuccessful; its outgoing voicemail message says its staff is away from the office until “Friday, Nov 23”.
CBYE board member Gary Santucci told YourHamiltonBiz that the group had received the lawsuit and would likely respond to it on Monday.
“There’s always two sides,” he said Wednesday. “There are other aspects surrounding this claim that we’re looking at as well. There were some grants that were not given for some reason and we’re wondering why that didn’t happen.”
While I understand the temptation to draw connections, and although I have been skeptical of the CBYE Tivoli deal since its earliest days, it's also easy to overstate things without having access to all of the details. It will be interesting to hear the CBYE's take.
On the face of it, the legal action launched by HECFI against CBYE is about a nonprofit organization failing to fulfill a rental agreement at 1 Summers Lane.
Although it is tempting to read subterfuge into this news, at first glance, it is unclear what inspired action on the outstanding production fees. In light of the timing, one reading would be that the action has come about as a result of tying up loose ends of book-keeping prior or pursuant to the recent management contract with Global Spectrum/Live Nation. Was it the City being belatedly diligent in its paperwork, or was it GS/LN being characteristically rigorous in its attention to the financials of its facilities?
It is equally unclear what other parties might have had unmet and outstanding contractual obligations at Copps Coliseum/Hamilton Place/Studio Theatre/Hamilton Convention Centre. I suspect that the general mess of HECFI's balance sheets camouflaged any such irregularities. One need only look at the KPMG audit of HECFI to see how seat-of-the-pants their performance metrics were. This dismal showing was, of course, the reason that the City contracted out management of HECFI facilities.
If you're looking to weed out nepotism, bad actors and lapsed oversight inside City Hall or the local business/cultural sectors, you will never be bored for the remainder of your mortal days. If you're at a loss for someplace to start, I would suggest that you seek out a copy of
Their Town: The Mafia, The Media and the Party Machine (Lorimer, 1979), which turns up in local used bookstores from time to time.
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