Abc

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- Hundreds of laid-off AB&C Group workers will have to wait longer for pay they say is due them after the bulk-mailing company suddenly went out of business March 14. In U.S. District Court in Martinsburg Thursday afternoon, local attorney Kathy Santa Barbara pushed federal bankruptcy judge Patrick Flatley to allow employees to be paid some of their wages from the $345,000 that she claimed was set aside for payroll, among other...

More than 150 construction professionals participated in the Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., Cumberland Valley Chapter, fourth-annual general contractors showcase at Four Points Sheraton in Hagerstown. General Contractors who set up displays were: Brechbill and Helman Construction Inc.; Callas Contractors Inc.; GRC General Contractor Inc.; Minghini's General Contractors Inc.; Morgan Keller Construction; and Waynesboro Construction Co. Inc. Sponsors for the event were: HPG Windows and Doors; Just Wood Industries; The Blue Book Building & Construction; and United Rental Aerial Equipment.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - One of the lawyers representing workers who lost their jobs when two AB&C Group plants shut down recently has told two local prosecutors that he believes state criminal laws might have been broken. In letters sent to Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Pamela-Games Neely and Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Michael D. Thompson, Martinsburg lawyer Paul Taylor said there is a state law which says that any person or corporation which disposes or relocates assets with the intent to deprive employees their wages is guilty of a felony.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Former employees of AB&C Group Inc., who were laid off last month, could receive some of the wages they are owed as early as next week, attorneys said Friday during a court hearing. Two boxes of paychecks for workers laid off March 14, the day they were to be paid, were turned over Friday to an attorney appointed by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gina M. Groh to marshal the custody of company assets seized by a court order signed Monday. Before distributing the March 9 payroll checks, attorney Carmela Cesare, the court-appointed receiver, is expected to verify that the checks can be cashed and photocopy them for the benefit of two civil lawsuits filed against the company since it shut down.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. -- Former employees of AB&C Group Inc., who were laid off last month, could receive some of the wages they are owed as early as next week, attorneys said Friday during a court hearing. Two boxes of paychecks for workers laid off March 14, the day they were to be paid, were turned over Friday to an attorney appointed by 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge Gina M. Groh to marshal the custody of company assets seized by a court order signed Monday. Before distributing the March 9 payroll checks, attorney Carmela Cesare, the court-appointed receiver, is expected to verify that the checks can be cashed and photocopy them for the benefit of two civil lawsuits filed against the company since it shut down.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- A judge signed an order Monday calling for the seizure of funds and property of the recently-closed AB&C Group so the assets will be available to pay unpaid wages due to laid-off workers, court documents show. Under the Jefferson County Circuit Court order, a court-appointed "special receiver" will take control of property and funds in the mailing company's Ranson, W.Va., and Martinsburg, W.Va., locations. "It stops the company from moving its assets from the building," explained Paul G. Taylor, an attorney representing laid-off AB&C workers in a lawsuit.

RANSON, W.Va. -- Hundreds of laid-off AB&C Group workers learned Tuesday about starting over. The former employees showed up at the Lions Club on Third Avenue to find out how to recoup lost wages, get food stamps, register for school clothing vouchers and get Medicaid assistance in the wake of two company plant shutdowns. Workers were told not to be shy or too proud to ask for help because they have paid for the state and federal assistance through the years that they have been working.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. -- A second suit has been filed over the local shutdown of AB&C Group, this time by five company workers asking that the courts "pierce the corporate veil" of companies involved in the mail order firm and give them wages due to them. The suit, filed Tuesday in Jefferson County Circuit Court by attorney Paul Taylor, said workers Josetta Gladney, Cheryl Wilfong, Ruth Johnson, Amy Cawthorn and David McCauley were employed by AB&C Group through March 14. Their employment was terminated the same day, the suit said.

EASTERN PANHANDLE, W.Va. -- Three local lawyers have filed a suit on behalf of laid-off AB&C Group Inc. workers in a case in which they hope to represent about 400 workers in an attempt to recoup about $1.6 million in wages and penalties. The suit comes after last week's shutdown of AB&C Group Inc., which handles bulk mailing for various companies. Workers at the AB&C plant off Fairfax Avenue in Ranson, W.Va., were expecting paychecks last Friday but were instead told to clean out their desks because they would not be able to return to work this week.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - State officials are working to speed-up unemployment benefits for hundreds of laid-off AB&C workers and a daylong assistance program will be held for the workers next Tuesday to help them with needs such as job training and health insurance, Sen. John Unger said Tuesday. Workers at the AB&C plant in Ranson, W.Va., were expecting paychecks last Friday but were instead told to clean out their desks because they would not be able to return to work this week. Some workers received checks while others did not, officials said.