New York City Opera will not be allowed to immediately return ticket fees to customers who paid for canceled performances or provide severance to full-time employees who lost their jobs, according to a bankruptcy court ruling on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane called the opera's efforts "laudable" but not permitted by the Bankruptcy Code. Still, the customers and employees could eventually be paid some or all of what they are owed. Nicole Stefanelli of Lowenstein Sandler LLP, which is representing the opera, said that the payments were necessary to maintain the goodwill of former employees and patrons as the opera continued talks with three parties that might "continue the mission of the debtor."
