The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors involved in the Trainor Glass Company bankruptcy case has recently recovered more than $140,000 from former business partners of the Alsip, Ill.-based glazing company in an effort to repay creditors.
Firestone Building Products Co. LLC and Facility Construction Services Inc. became the latest to agree to give back some of the payments made to them by Trainor Glass in the 90 days prior to the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition on March 9, 2012, according to papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Similar arrangements had previously been reached in October with Applied Research Associates, Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., Architectural Metal Fabricators Inc. of Atlanta, Coyote Glass LLC of Phoenix, Algoma Hardwoods Inc. of Algoma, Wis., Lumicor Inc. of Renton, Wash., McGrory Glass Inc. of Paulsboro, N.J., and Los Angeles-based C.R. Laurence Co., according to court records.
Neither Aaron J. Hammer, the Chicago-based attorney representing the committee of unsecured creditors, nor Martha R. Lehman, the Indianapolis-based attorney representing Firestone Building Products, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday morning.
However, court records show that he brokered a deal in which Indianapolis-based Firestone Building Products will repay the largest individual sum of $70,000 to avoid any further legal action. While substantial, the sum is far less than the more than $114,000 the committee had originally sought.
Hammer alleged in court documents that Firestone Building Products and the other companies that did business with Trainor Glass in the 90 days prior to the bankruptcy petition were liable for "avoidable transfers" during that period.
Firestone Building Products is expected to have delivered a check to the committee by December 5, according to court records.
Algoma Hardwoods agreed to repay $16,000 in late October, while Applied Research Associates and McGrory Glass negotiated settlements of $15,000 apiece. None of the settlements represent an admission of liability by any of the parties involved, according to court records.
Trainor Glass originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 9, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The company, which closed in late February, reported debt between $50 and $100 million in its voluntary petition that was signed by its president, Thomas Trainor. Its 20 largest unsecured claims total nearly $12 million, according to court records.
Among the largest creditors were United Architectural Metals of North Canton, Ohio, with a claim of $1.4 million; Viracon Inc. in Owatonna, Minn., with a claim of $1.1 million; EFCO in Monett, Mo., with a claim of $1.1 million; Architectural Systems Inc. in Monett, Mo., with a claim of $881,038; Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope® in Wright City, Mo., with a claim of $615,084.74; Design Engineering Consulting in Richardson, Texas, with a claim of $594,315.00; Insulating Solutions in McKinney, Texas, with a claim of $589,389.98; Kawneer Co. in Norcross, Ga., with a claim of $503,307.00; J.E. Berkowitz in Westville, N.J., with a claim of $498,906.38; Western Glass in Ogden, Utah, with a claim of $485,751.00; and Graham Architectural Products in York, Pa., with a claim of $350,920.00.
In late May 2012, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois approved the sale of substantially all of Trainor Glass' assets in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Texas to Harmon Inc. for approximately $3 million.
