Wine Care Storage Clients,

You may have recently received the monthly operating statement from Wine Care Storage.  There are a number of curious aspects of the statement.  However, let's focus on page 17 which lists insurance.  You will note that they have general liability insurance which costs $1,600 a month.  So where is the specific insurance to cover 33,000 cases of Wine?

In any event, not one person has offered to pay even $1.00 towards the cost of a bankruptcy lawyer.

Regards,

Alan Ballinger

Wine Care Storage Clients - Call to Action

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I have retained an experienced bankruptcy counsel.  My goal is to take the debtor's deposition and under oath get the following:

1.  Statement concerning the state of our wines;

2.  Copies of any insurance policies; and

3.  Schedule an inspection.

My counsel has indicated that the deposition and court filings will cost approximately $10,000.  If you are willing to join this action please make a check payable to Michael Seese, Esq. and send it to my office:  375 Park Avenue, Suite 2607, NYC  10152  Attn:  Alan Ballinger.  If we get reasonably close to $10,000, I will move forward.  Otherwise, I will return your checks.

Regards,

Alan

Dear Friends,

I have retained bankruptcy counsel in this matter.

No one offered to contribute to the retention of counsel so I will be pursuing this on my own,

This is the end of the blog.

Alan Ballinger

Dear Wine Owners,

The wine care litigation blog has received more than 2,500 hits.  I have received numerous responses from affected wine owners who would like to join the litigation.  However, not one person has volunteered to contribute a red cent to the litigation effort.

Unless I receive a number of responses from owners by a week from today, I am going to cease my efforts at joint litigation and pursue my own course of action.

Regards,

Alan

Hi Wine Owners,

The latest note from Derek Linbacher is a crock of bs.

I for one am tired of his silly and whining statements.

My suggestion is that the readers of this blog and Winebeserkers should get together and sue the crap out of Linbacher for fraud which is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

1.  Until such time as Linbacher permits an inspection by an independent group, all of his statements are just hot air;

2.  His statement that only 5% of the cases are missing labels is not subject to independent verification and as such is just hot air;

3.  Where is the insurance policy or policies covering our wine?  Make a copy of the policy or policies available to an independent group - this blog or Winebeserkers.

Again, any of you who are interested, I strongly recommend that we hire independent counsel and go after Linbacher in the bankruptcy case.  Until such time as we go after him, he is just going to put more hot air out there.

Regards,

Alan

A telling story:

A wine merchant that I know was invited by Derek Linbacher to tour the facility.  This wine merchant has no wine stored at Wine Care Storage.  In fact, the wine merchant said that based on this invitation, one should give Wine Care Storeage the benefit of the doubt.

He showed up at the appointed hour for a tour.  He was asked to sign a confidentiality document by a lawyer who was outside the door.  The agreement would have prevented the wine merchant from disclosing any information about the tour or what he saw to any other party.

What was the point in inviting the wine merchant for a tour?

It would appear that Mr. Linbacher is engaged in an elaborate game of hide and seek.  He should remember that the Bankruptcy Court is a court of equity.  While the debtor is given great latitude, the debtor is supposed to be forthcoming.  The time is running out for Mr. Linbacher.

At this juncture, one can now see the glass as half empty or perhaps empty.

I listened to part of the discussion by Samantha Carrington the other day.  I was unconvinced and found it to be part of the ruse that Wine Care Storage (WCS) is perpetrating:

1.  We should be hearing from Derek Linbacher and not some person who does not have an official affiliation with the firm as per their website;

2.  If WCS has nothing to hide, I would propose they take the following actions:

a.  Permit a designated number of WCS customers to inspect the facility.  I for one do not believe that our wine is being stored at proper temperatures or that there was minimal damage;

b.  Provide copies of all insurance policies. This could be given to designated representatives of WCS customers.  I for one do not believe that WCS maintained the required insurance; and

c.  Submit to deposition as required by the Judge in the Phillip Waterman pre-trial discovery action.

The failure of WCS to take the above actions is indicative of the fraud that is being perpetrated on WCS customers.  It was a cowardly act of Derek Linbacher to file in bankruptcy to avert his obligations - an inspection of the facility and our wines, furnishing copies of the insurance policy and personal deposition.  While Ms. Carrington is attempting to elicit sympathy for WCS, we should hold them in contempt for their brazen failure to come clean with the true state of facts