Richmond Federal Courthouse
A Middle Peninsula oyster company has scored a minor victory in the face of a group of disgruntled investors that includes at least two Richmonders.
Oyster Company of Virginia received approval earlier this month to be placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move that will allow it to continue operating and work out a plan to resolve certain debt claims, while blocking an initial attempt by those investors to have the firm liquidated.
The company’s request for Chapter 11 was made in response to an involuntary bankruptcy petition made earlier in the month by those investors, who sought to push the company into Chapter 7 liquidation.
OCVA was founded in 2010 by Tolar Nolley as a vehicle for selling memberships in an oyster cage co-op program dubbed “Oysters for Life.” Nolley has said the company also worked to create a program for trading tax credits earned from nutrient remediation by putting spent oysters shells back into the water.
The venture is based in Topping, Virginia – about 60 miles east of Richmond near the Rappahannock River.
The initial involuntary bankruptcy filing was made by a group of the company’s early investors, including Richmonder Bill Loughridge, president of local construction company Loughridge & Co., and his wife Patricia. Bill Loughridge also filed on behalf of Half Shell Partners LLC, which shares its address with Loughridge & Co. at 5711 Staples Mill Road.
The other petitioners are Chandler S. Weigand, and Jeffrey and Eleanor Orndorff, all of Maryland. Nolley said they were all early investors in OCVA.
Their initial claim stated they haven’t been paid for the contractual return on their investment in the company of $122,500. Of that, Half Shell Partners claims it is owed $67,500, while the individuals each cite claims of $15,000.
The deadline for the company to file its list of assets and liabilities is set for today.
A meeting of the company’s creditors is set for Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. in Richmond federal court. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips is overseeing the case.
Any creditors with claims against the company have until March 27 to file a proof of claim.
Richmond Federal Courthouse
A Middle Peninsula oyster company has scored a minor victory in the face of a group of disgruntled investors that includes at least two Richmonders.
Oyster Company of Virginia received approval earlier this month to be placed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move that will allow it to continue operating and work out a plan to resolve certain debt claims, while blocking an initial attempt by those investors to have the firm liquidated.
The company’s request for Chapter 11 was made in response to an involuntary bankruptcy petition made earlier in the month by those investors, who sought to push the company into Chapter 7 liquidation.
OCVA was founded in 2010 by Tolar Nolley as a vehicle for selling memberships in an oyster cage co-op program dubbed “Oysters for Life.” Nolley has said the company also worked to create a program for trading tax credits earned from nutrient remediation by putting spent oysters shells back into the water.
The venture is based in Topping, Virginia – about 60 miles east of Richmond near the Rappahannock River.
The initial involuntary bankruptcy filing was made by a group of the company’s early investors, including Richmonder Bill Loughridge, president of local construction company Loughridge & Co., and his wife Patricia. Bill Loughridge also filed on behalf of Half Shell Partners LLC, which shares its address with Loughridge & Co. at 5711 Staples Mill Road.
The other petitioners are Chandler S. Weigand, and Jeffrey and Eleanor Orndorff, all of Maryland. Nolley said they were all early investors in OCVA.
Their initial claim stated they haven’t been paid for the contractual return on their investment in the company of $122,500. Of that, Half Shell Partners claims it is owed $67,500, while the individuals each cite claims of $15,000.
The deadline for the company to file its list of assets and liabilities is set for today.
A meeting of the company’s creditors is set for Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. in Richmond federal court. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips is overseeing the case.
Any creditors with claims against the company have until March 27 to file a proof of claim.