A truck camper made by Fort Lupton’s Hallmark RV. (Courtesy Hallmark)
A federal judge dismissed the bankruptcy of Colorado’s oldest camper manufacturer on Friday, resurrecting a $1.8 million dispute with a supplier.
Fort Lupton-based Hallmark RV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The camper company then sought to dismiss its own case on Aug. 29.
“This is an unusual situation,” U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael E. Romero said in a hearing last week.
Hubert Ward started making RVs in Colorado in 1958, and founded Hallmark with his son William in 1969. For over 20 years the manufacturer ordered parts from Lamar-based CF Maier Composites, which are made using Hallmark’s molds.
Because the bankruptcy was dismissed, Hallmark will go back to Weld County District Court, where CF Maier sued it in October. CF Maier claims Hallmark owes $1.75 million for fiberglass composites that Hallmark ordered and used but hasn’t paid for.
But Hallmark claims those parts were shoddy and caused the company to lose nearly $900,000 in two years. The camper manufacturer responded with a countersuit, claiming CF Maier refuses to give the company its molds back and owes $170,000 for defective parts.
Lance Goff, a lawyer for CF Maier, said Wednesday that debating the ownership of the molds is a “Trojan horse by Hallmark to deflect from the fact that they have six figures of unpaid invoices to CF Maier.”
The March bankruptcy filing paused that case, but Hallmark said last week it would rather fight CF Maier in state court than continue with the bankruptcy case.
Steve Mulligan, who represented Hallmark in its bankruptcy proceedings, alleged that CF Maier wanted the case converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy so Hallmark’s countersuit against the company would go away. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are usually a liquidation process, where a trustee is appointed to oversee the selloff of a debtor’s assets.
Goff argued that the case should be converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy so that creditors can get the money they’re owed. He accused Hallmark of not doing anything after filing for bankruptcy and using “the process to their own benefit.”
“They had their chance,” Goff said. “If they wanted to spend time and litigate with us in state court, we were right there.”
Because the only creditor against dismissing the case was CF Maier, and he didn’t believe Hallmark had enough assets to pay its creditors, Romero ultimately decided to dismiss the bankruptcy.
“This is obviously a dispute between two parties that don’t like each other, that’s very clear,” Romero said.
A truck camper made by Fort Lupton’s Hallmark RV. (Courtesy Hallmark)
A federal judge dismissed the bankruptcy of Colorado’s oldest camper manufacturer on Friday, resurrecting a $1.8 million dispute with a supplier.
Fort Lupton-based Hallmark RV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The camper company then sought to dismiss its own case on Aug. 29.
“This is an unusual situation,” U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael E. Romero said in a hearing last week.
Hubert Ward started making RVs in Colorado in 1958, and founded Hallmark with his son William in 1969. For over 20 years the manufacturer ordered parts from Lamar-based CF Maier Composites, which are made using Hallmark’s molds.
Because the bankruptcy was dismissed, Hallmark will go back to Weld County District Court, where CF Maier sued it in October. CF Maier claims Hallmark owes $1.75 million for fiberglass composites that Hallmark ordered and used but hasn’t paid for.
But Hallmark claims those parts were shoddy and caused the company to lose nearly $900,000 in two years. The camper manufacturer responded with a countersuit, claiming CF Maier refuses to give the company its molds back and owes $170,000 for defective parts.
Lance Goff, a lawyer for CF Maier, said Wednesday that debating the ownership of the molds is a “Trojan horse by Hallmark to deflect from the fact that they have six figures of unpaid invoices to CF Maier.”
The March bankruptcy filing paused that case, but Hallmark said last week it would rather fight CF Maier in state court than continue with the bankruptcy case.
Steve Mulligan, who represented Hallmark in its bankruptcy proceedings, alleged that CF Maier wanted the case converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy so Hallmark’s countersuit against the company would go away. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are usually a liquidation process, where a trustee is appointed to oversee the selloff of a debtor’s assets.
Goff argued that the case should be converted to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy so that creditors can get the money they’re owed. He accused Hallmark of not doing anything after filing for bankruptcy and using “the process to their own benefit.”
“They had their chance,” Goff said. “If they wanted to spend time and litigate with us in state court, we were right there.”
Because the only creditor against dismissing the case was CF Maier, and he didn’t believe Hallmark had enough assets to pay its creditors, Romero ultimately decided to dismiss the bankruptcy.
“This is obviously a dispute between two parties that don’t like each other, that’s very clear,” Romero said.
