Yucaipa Companies says if Inner City actually filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation), that would have “devastating affects on the Debtors’ employees and vendors” and would “destroy” the FCC licenses such as urban WBLS, New York (107.5). That’s why, says Yucaipa, it had “no choice but to commence these involuntary Chapter 11” proceedings (meaning reorganization). A group of Inner City creditors led by Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Comanies says the station owner defaulted over two years ago. They allege mismanagement by Inner City. Yucaipa and its allies say they had reached a re-structuring plan that “would have left unsecured creditors unimpaired and provided equityholders with a cash recovery, and a continuing stake in the reorganized entities.” That plan was accepted by the board of one of Inner City’s subsidiaries. But then Yucaipa alleges that Pierre Sutton, at the parent company of Inner City, “forced the alleged debtors to back out of this deal, apparently to seek a greater recovery for himself and other existing shareholders.” Yucaipa says Sutton then “engineered the removal of incumbent boards of directors at the Alleged Debtors and put in place new ‘professional’ directors.'" Among the previous directors swept out: Inner City President/COO Charles Warfield, a past Chair of the NAB Radio Board; Inner City general counsel Lois Wright; and longtime director Edwin Shirley. All three supported the re-structuring plan.