(Corrected) Gamma Photographers Must Take Action Now

November 27, 2009 by pmelcher.

 See corrections made by a company insider:

From Randy Taylor :

Photographers (or photo agencies or other creditors) who are owed money by SA Eyedea Presse (more commonly known as Gamma or Gamma Presse) who are not French have only until November 30th 

December 27th to file a court claim for any monies owed to them.

(This information comes from a friend in Europe. As a former contributor of images to Gamma, this was news to me. It is a compelling call to action for any non-French photographer who has images with Gamma or subsequent business entities now controlled by the bankruptcy court under the umbrella of Eyedea.)

Eyedea 

Eyedea Presse, a company inside the Eyedea holding, and not the holding, filed for bankruptcy protection on july 30 2009. An insider who is looking to let everyone know what’s happening advises that, “For the moment they are still trying to save what’s left of the agency after having [fired] most of the staff. An administrator is considering which of its debts are and can be paid, including photographers’ copyrighted sales made during the recent past, but BEFORE July 30th 2009. Any sales after that date must be paid [normally] until the court orders the liquidation of the company.

Eyedea Presse is being run by an administrator and is under ‘observation’ until the 30^th of January 2010, at this moment the company will return to the commercial courts who will judge the viability of the business to continue, the owners of the company will be staking the case for it to do so and have no plans to apply for liquidation.

The letter from a court-appointed administrator in October calls for all claims to be made by November 30, 2009. After this date, no claims will be considered under French law. (There might be an extension for those who can read French and figure out the dates, but better to file by the original deadline).

November 30^th is not the date for claims to be made by photographers overseas. That is the date for French photographers.

Some photographers have said that sales reports have not been sent for a long time, making it impossible to file an exact claim. And some have not received the administrator’s notice (see link below).

The insider close to the situation says “I suggest you send a registered letter with return receipt (or use some other verifiable courier such as Fedex) BEFORE NOV. 30 to the administrator stating that you reserve your right to make a claim and that you give some estimated figure to be verified by a later audit to confirm this estimate.”

All overseas, photographers, like the French ones, have received or will receive from Eyedea Presse a letter telling them how to, to whom and for how much to make their claim, this is a legal obligation of the bankruptcy procedure, under the control of the administrator

The Good Samaritan further conveys, “The appearance of Gamma’s lack of proper communication with its FOREIGN photographers suggests that they are planning to freeze out [their] due rights and payments.”

Even if Eyedea Presse wished to do this, it cannot. It is being run by an outside administrator, appointed by the commercial court, who is obliged to run the company by the rulebook.

The official notice from the administrator is geared more towards those who have invoices, bills or other clearly defined debts owed. It provides guidance of what the court is looking for in your claim letter, which should also include:

- a reference to SA Eyedea Presse
- a statement that you have a claim in the insolvency proceedings
- the date on which the debt was incurred and its amount (if known)
- that you want “reservation of title” in such claim
- the assets of Eyedea covered by the guaranty you are invoking (if known)
- any supporting documentation (ie, sales reports, invoices, etc.)
- a statement of the facts on a separate piece of paper that you personally certify as true, that is also dated and signed

The letter that overseas photographer have already received or will receive includes all the necessary information to make a claim without having to go through files for past documents for proof, i.e you sign the form and send it to the address supplied.

A copy of the official notice from the administrator is at this URL:

http://randytaylor.com/documents/Gamma-Eyedea-Claim-Notice-05OCT09.jpg

Your certified claim should be sent to the following address:

Maître Valliot
Administrateur Judiciaire
41 rue du Four
Paris 75006 France

A second/duplicate letter should also be sent to the law firm handling the action at this address:

SCP Becheret-Thierry-Senechal-Gorrias
1, Place Boieldieu
Paris 75002 France

A few notes: Readers are reminded that they have only until November 30 

December 27^th 2009 to file a claim. The sooner, the better. The claim must be done in writing, preferably with proof of delivery. Fax and email are not accepted. And, this is about the French company Gamma (Eyedea). It has nothing to do with their past American partner for many years, which was Liaison Agency.

Bon courage,

Randy Taylor

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