Landscaper accused of theft goes bankrupt before $1.3M trial

NuStyle

Nu Style Landscape & Development is headquartered at 646 Bryant St. in the Sun Valley neighborhood. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)

Just two weeks before a trial was to determine whether it owes $1.3 million to a supplier, a Denver homebuilder and landscaping company has declared bankruptcy.

Nu Style Landscape & Development, founded in 2005, owes $7 million to creditors, according to bankruptcy paperwork it filed Oct. 2, and has $5.4 million in assets. It owes $3.4 million to suppliers, $1.5 million to banks and lenders, and $305,000 to subcontractors.

The company, headquartered in Sun Valley, builds model homes, does residential landscaping and construction, and removes snow for commercial clients, according to its website.

Reached by email, Nu Style CEO Michael Moilanen agreed to be interviewed about the Chapter 11 bankruptcy but then did not answer phone calls, text messages or a follow-up email.

Nu Style has been sued five times this year and has been ordered by judges to pay $73,000 to a subcontractor it snubbed and $20,600 in back wages to a former employee.

A two-day trial was scheduled for next week to determine if it also owes money to SiteOne, a national landscape supplier that said Nu Style racked up a $1.3 million bill; Nu Style claims that it owes a lesser amount. Their trial was canceled due to the bankruptcy.

Mike Moilanen LinkedIn

Nu Style CEO Mike Moilanen. (LinkedIn)

Nu Style also faces a lawsuit filed in August by Denver Rock Co., which accuses Nu Style of not paying $266,550 for materials. The rock company claims that Nu Style committed civil theft and should be forced to pay it three times the amount it stole. Nu Style has ignored that lawsuit, so Denver Rock Co. is seeking a $763,000 default judgment.

Nu Style is also accused of stealing $32,000 from Roller Auctions in Denver. That company said it owed money to Nu Style, sent Nu Style a $32,000 check, realized that the check had the wrong date, and sent a second check. Nu Style allegedly cashed both checks and kept the money, so Roller Auctions sued it for theft. Nu Style has ignored that lawsuit too.

“This is a bad actor,” Roller Auctions CEO Dayton Roller told BusinessDen. “This isn’t someone who tried to run a business, got a loan and it didn’t work out, so they went into bankruptcy. They are fully aware of what happened and thought they were going to get away with it.

“What a crappy company. Not somebody I recommend doing business with.”

Nu Style’s bankruptcy lawyer is Jeffrey Weinman with Allen Vellone Wolf Helfrich & Factor. In the SiteOne case, it is represented by Refugio Perez and Alex M. Pass of Hamilton Faatz.

NuStyle

Nu Style Landscape & Development is headquartered at 646 Bryant St. in the Sun Valley neighborhood. (Justin Wingerter/BusinessDen)

Just two weeks before a trial was to determine whether it owes $1.3 million to a supplier, a Denver homebuilder and landscaping company has declared bankruptcy.

Nu Style Landscape & Development, founded in 2005, owes $7 million to creditors, according to bankruptcy paperwork it filed Oct. 2, and has $5.4 million in assets. It owes $3.4 million to suppliers, $1.5 million to banks and lenders, and $305,000 to subcontractors.

The company, headquartered in Sun Valley, builds model homes, does residential landscaping and construction, and removes snow for commercial clients, according to its website.

Reached by email, Nu Style CEO Michael Moilanen agreed to be interviewed about the Chapter 11 bankruptcy but then did not answer phone calls, text messages or a follow-up email.

Nu Style has been sued five times this year and has been ordered by judges to pay $73,000 to a subcontractor it snubbed and $20,600 in back wages to a former employee.

A two-day trial was scheduled for next week to determine if it also owes money to SiteOne, a national landscape supplier that said Nu Style racked up a $1.3 million bill; Nu Style claims that it owes a lesser amount. Their trial was canceled due to the bankruptcy.

Mike Moilanen LinkedIn

Nu Style CEO Mike Moilanen. (LinkedIn)

Nu Style also faces a lawsuit filed in August by Denver Rock Co., which accuses Nu Style of not paying $266,550 for materials. The rock company claims that Nu Style committed civil theft and should be forced to pay it three times the amount it stole. Nu Style has ignored that lawsuit, so Denver Rock Co. is seeking a $763,000 default judgment.

Nu Style is also accused of stealing $32,000 from Roller Auctions in Denver. That company said it owed money to Nu Style, sent Nu Style a $32,000 check, realized that the check had the wrong date, and sent a second check. Nu Style allegedly cashed both checks and kept the money, so Roller Auctions sued it for theft. Nu Style has ignored that lawsuit too.

“This is a bad actor,” Roller Auctions CEO Dayton Roller told BusinessDen. “This isn’t someone who tried to run a business, got a loan and it didn’t work out, so they went into bankruptcy. They are fully aware of what happened and thought they were going to get away with it.

“What a crappy company. Not somebody I recommend doing business with.”

Nu Style’s bankruptcy lawyer is Jeffrey Weinman with Allen Vellone Wolf Helfrich & Factor. In the SiteOne case, it is represented by Refugio Perez and Alex M. Pass of Hamilton Faatz.

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