Agree to Disagree
Seems as though we each have our own opinion PB, i feel for those who have lost out on being paid truely i do, it's not a good position to be in at all.
Perhaps indeed their time will come and the matter can be amicably resolved for them, maybe not.
From an operators point of view perhaps allowing such a sizeable debt to be carried was a poor business decision? What can you do, stop service? But if the only other option is bankruptcy then surely you have no choice?
How much money can your business afford to carry to a debtor?
Where do you draw the line? 10k? 20k? 50k? 250k?
Either way, seems like the answer is pretty clear to me.