Former exec of
Hawaii homebuilder
files bankruptcyArthur M. Smith lists debts of
$24 million and assets of $17,267
The former president of bankrupt pre-fabricated home manufacturer Hawaiian Palisade Homes LLC filed for personal bankruptcy in California earlier this month.
Arthur M. Smith listed personal debts of more than $24 million and assets of $17,267 in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition filed May 5 in Santa Barbara.
He also listed a claim for $1.5 million against a mortgage company. The debts listed in Smith's petition are the same as those listed for Hawaiian Palisades in its earlier bankruptcy.
Hawaiian Palisade was ordered into a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy in October in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Honolulu.
The company had filed in June for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, which would have allowed the business to continue while it reorganized, but the court declined the Chapter 11 request.
Among Smith's list of creditors are 23 local families, most of who had paid $80,00 to $95,000 for homes but never received them.
Another 69 local businesses and product suppliers are owed more than $11.3 million. Almost all the debts listed on the petition are disputed.
Among the creditors owed the most money are: the state of Hawaii, owed $3.2 million for a business practice violations lawsuit; Title Guaranty Escrow & Title Services, $1.5 million; City Bank, $1.5 million for a loan; Contractors Surety Insurance, $1.5 million for performance bonds.