Bankruptcy attorneys on the Santa Barbara News-Press case asked the court to hold owner Wendy McCaw in contempt for delays and demanding rent to access the former newspaper’s properties.

McCaw’s Ampersand Publishing, the News-Press parent company, declared bankruptcy in July 2023. The newspaper stopped publishing to its website and eliminated all its employees.

Trustee Jerry Namba plans to sell News-Press assets, including printing press equipment and newspaper archives, to pay some of the business’ debts.

In a motion filed Monday, Namba’s attorney, Michael D’Alba, alleges McCaw is “preventing that from happening by, among other things, demanding rent in exchange for access.”

The News-Press Buildings

The News-Press operated out of 715 Anacapa St. in downtown Santa Barbara and 725 S. Kellogg Ave. in Goleta for decades. All staff moved to the Goleta facility a few months before the bankruptcy filing.

McCaw bought the News-Press in 2000 from the New York Times Company and transferred the buildings to separate limited liability companies she owns in 2014. She did not list them as assets in the newspaper’s bankruptcy filing.

McCaw allowed the newspaper to use the properties without leases and without paying rent, she revealed in a September meeting of creditors.

Bankruptcy Case

When Namba first tried to get access to the properties, “he was told that McCaw wanted to renovate them, and that the payment of rent was required,” D’Alba wrote in his court motion.

McCaw didn’t provide keys, and attempts to organize “one-off visits” apparently haven’t worked out: Namba said he has visited the Anacapa Street property twice and the Kellogg Avenue property only once.

“The trustee as representative of the bankruptcy estate owns the right to access Anacapa and Goleta without having to pay rent, and the trustee also owns the assets that are located in Anacapa and Goleta,” D’Alba wrote in this week’s motion.

Namba’s attorneys also expressed concern that workers could damage or remove News-Press bankruptcy assets during their unknown work.

They have asked the court to hold McCaw in contempt and impose sanctions.

McCaw’s attorneys had not filed a response in bankruptcy court as of Wednesday. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for April 4.

On April 9, Namba plans a court hearing to sell the News-Press website domain, social media accounts and trademark. He already has a buyer willing to pay $250,000 but is welcoming higher bidders, according to court documents.