A line of Fluid Truck vans for rent. (Courtesy Fluid Truck)
The owners of vehicles for rent through Fluid Truck are asking a judge to stop the bankrupt company’s sale, warning it would be a “get out of jail free card” that would allow the company’s founders “to ride off into the sunset” and leave vehicle owners holding unpaid invoices.
“This case has been a parade of horribles for (Fluid)’s key constituency: the owners of vehicles who made the mistake of utilizing the company’s platform,” those owners say.
Fluid, a Denver startup that allows people to rent trucks and vans from other people, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October with plans to sell to Kingbee Rentals out of Utah. That sale, which is awaiting a bankruptcy judge’s approval, is estimated at $10 million — far below the $81 million the company reported raising from investors. Kingbee was the only bidder ahead of a Dec. 9 deadline, according to Fluid’s court filings.
That sale is not sitting well with the people who rent out thousands of vehicles through the Fluid Vehicle Investor Platform, or FVIP. Some of those investors are suing the company and its founders for allegedly stealing $11 million in proceeds from sales of their vehicles.
In a rash of court filings in the past week, two dozen people or companies who rent out vehicles through Fluid have banded together in five objections to the sale. Also objecting to aspects of the deal is a vehicle repair company that said it is owed $1.7 million and a woman who was injured in a crash with a Fluid vehicle on the Las Vegas Strip last year.
Eleven companies that own 855 of the 5,500 trucks and vans for lease on Fluid’s app complained to a judge Dec. 6 that they borrowed money to buy those vehicles and are still forced to make loan payments while Fluid is asking to have its debts wiped away.
“For the bad actors, this case is their get-out-of-jail-free card,” the 11 firms alleged.
If the sale to Kingbee is approved, FVIP users “will be forced to track down their vehicles and will have no redress against the people who they contend stole their money. Some of their vehicles are being held hostage by mechanics,” the FVIP companies told the court.
Several vehicle owners are asking Judge Craig Goldblatt to let them repossess those vehicles or at least ensure they are not given to Kingbee in the sale. The owners also want Fluid to help them find their vans and trucks, which have been scattered across the United States.
Most of all, they are asking Goldblatt to stop the sale, which could leave Fluid insolvent.
“The (company)’s principals are going to ride off into the sunset while leaving the FVIPs and a trustee with a colossal mess to clean up,” one group of vehicle owners wrote Dec. 6.
A spokeswoman for Fluid Truck, Liz Gonzalez, declined to comment on the objections. Scott Avila, its interim CEO, has claimed that a sale to Kingbee will be best for everyone.
“Our proposed partnership not only secures the continuity of our operations but also expands our customer offerings with a more comprehensive range of vehicle rental solutions, especially in the fast-growing last-mile logistics space,” he said in an October press release.
“I’m confident the decisive steps we are taking today will position Fluid Truck for a brighter, stronger future, ensuring the best possible outcome for all our stakeholders.”
A court hearing on the proposed sale and its objections is scheduled for midday Friday.
A line of Fluid Truck vans for rent. (Courtesy Fluid Truck)
The owners of vehicles for rent through Fluid Truck are asking a judge to stop the bankrupt company’s sale, warning it would be a “get out of jail free card” that would allow the company’s founders “to ride off into the sunset” and leave vehicle owners holding unpaid invoices.
“This case has been a parade of horribles for (Fluid)’s key constituency: the owners of vehicles who made the mistake of utilizing the company’s platform,” those owners say.
Fluid, a Denver startup that allows people to rent trucks and vans from other people, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October with plans to sell to Kingbee Rentals out of Utah. That sale, which is awaiting a bankruptcy judge’s approval, is estimated at $10 million — far below the $81 million the company reported raising from investors. Kingbee was the only bidder ahead of a Dec. 9 deadline, according to Fluid’s court filings.
That sale is not sitting well with the people who rent out thousands of vehicles through the Fluid Vehicle Investor Platform, or FVIP. Some of those investors are suing the company and its founders for allegedly stealing $11 million in proceeds from sales of their vehicles.
In a rash of court filings in the past week, two dozen people or companies who rent out vehicles through Fluid have banded together in five objections to the sale. Also objecting to aspects of the deal is a vehicle repair company that said it is owed $1.7 million and a woman who was injured in a crash with a Fluid vehicle on the Las Vegas Strip last year.
Eleven companies that own 855 of the 5,500 trucks and vans for lease on Fluid’s app complained to a judge Dec. 6 that they borrowed money to buy those vehicles and are still forced to make loan payments while Fluid is asking to have its debts wiped away.
“For the bad actors, this case is their get-out-of-jail-free card,” the 11 firms alleged.
If the sale to Kingbee is approved, FVIP users “will be forced to track down their vehicles and will have no redress against the people who they contend stole their money. Some of their vehicles are being held hostage by mechanics,” the FVIP companies told the court.
Several vehicle owners are asking Judge Craig Goldblatt to let them repossess those vehicles or at least ensure they are not given to Kingbee in the sale. The owners also want Fluid to help them find their vans and trucks, which have been scattered across the United States.
Most of all, they are asking Goldblatt to stop the sale, which could leave Fluid insolvent.
“The (company)’s principals are going to ride off into the sunset while leaving the FVIPs and a trustee with a colossal mess to clean up,” one group of vehicle owners wrote Dec. 6.
A spokeswoman for Fluid Truck, Liz Gonzalez, declined to comment on the objections. Scott Avila, its interim CEO, has claimed that a sale to Kingbee will be best for everyone.
“Our proposed partnership not only secures the continuity of our operations but also expands our customer offerings with a more comprehensive range of vehicle rental solutions, especially in the fast-growing last-mile logistics space,” he said in an October press release.
“I’m confident the decisive steps we are taking today will position Fluid Truck for a brighter, stronger future, ensuring the best possible outcome for all our stakeholders.”
A court hearing on the proposed sale and its objections is scheduled for midday Friday.
