Orchestra asks court to stop pension fund from harassing donors

Philadelphia Orchestra Association to U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Please stop the national musicians' pension fund from harassing our donors.

In a motion filed last week in the association's Chapter 11 case, orchestra management says the American Federation of Musicians and Employers Pension Fund is seeking financial information from 16 philanthropists "only in a continued effort to embarrass and harass the [association] and their donors."

Such an inquiry will have a "tremendous and devastating impact" on fund-raising, the association asserts.

"If donors find themselves subject to litigation and have to incur related expenses solely as a result of their benevolence, they and others who contemplate supporting the Debtors' organization may be deterred from making future gifts," the filing states.

The orchestra estimates it needs to raise about $165 million over several years to fund its bankruptcy case and operating expenses in coming seasons, and to boost endowment to an adequate level.

Additionally, the filing reserves the right to seek sanctions against the fund for "vexatious and harassing discovery tactics" and litigation.

Sanctions, if sought by the association and approved by the judge, could include shifting the association's legal fees for part of the discovery process onto the fund, said the association attorney, Lawrence G. McMichael.

"Our mission is to protect the endowment and protect the orchestra, and their mission is to try to get paid as much as possible," McMichael said. "But all litigants have an obligation to work within the facts and not make stuff up. There is no problem with our endowment, and by now they should know that."

As of Monday, the matter is to be heard Wednesday by Judge Eric L. Frank.

McMichael said it would not hold up the orchestra's exit from bankruptcy, which he once forecast for Dec. 31 but now said would happen in early 2012.

But the association's relationship with the Kimmel Center, its landlord, is still under discussion and best resolved as part of the bankruptcy, he said. The solution, McMichael said, could range from something as small as "adjustments to existing leases, to as large as a complete restructuring of the organizations."