Yari bankruptcy: the sequel

By Eriq Gardner

Film impresario Bob Yari continues to have problems steering his production company after his "Crash" won a best picture Oscar in 2006. 

Yesterday, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the midst of a legal battle with talent agency UTA over commissions from the 2006 comedy, "Dave Chappelle's Block Party," produced by Yari. Papers were filed under the name Persik Productions, a holding company.

"It won't affect our production going forward," he told THR's Gregg Kilday. "It's just a reorganization of the existing library that will isolate obligations from our past library."

In an IFTA arbitration with the agency, the arbitrator ordered Yari to put $350,679.06 into escrow pending the outcome of the case upon worries that a possible bankrupty might impede any future collection. Last week a judge ordered that a receiver be appointed to look after the company's finances. Yari responded by putting the company into bankruptcy.

Yari has already gone the Chapter 11 route once, having put the releasing arm of his company into bankruptcy back in December 2008.

Yari is also on the hook for $127,994.59 in fines to his creditors in his old bankruptcy case because he failed to comply with court orders to produce documents, according to court records. When Yari tried to file an opposition to produce these documents, he was rejected because court papers weren't filed in a timely fashion.

Earlier in the month, the releasing arm of the Yari Film Group filed an appeal to a Los Angeles district court to overturn the bankruptcy court's order, which gave him 90 days from November 23 to pay the $127,994.59 sum.

Filing for bankruptcy doesn't seem to have helped Yari out much previously. Hopefully he has better luck this time.