Bankruptcy

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Lenox Group's decision to file for bankruptcy won't affect its distribution center in Halfway, a company official said Tuesday. Lenox, which makes dinnerware, gifts and collectibles, said Monday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest company to succumb to the weak retail environment. It is seeking an $85 million debtor-in-possession financing facility from its revolving lender group to pay employees, make material purchases and pay normal operating expenses.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) -- Nearly 400 workers who lost their jobs when AB&C closed call centers in Martinsburg and Ranson in March will have to wait for their final paychecks. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Patrick Flatley ruled July 2 that bankruptcy laws prevent him from immediately releasing about $345,000 to the laid-off workers. A class-action lawsuit filed in March in Berkeley County Circuit Court seeks to recover three weeks of wages for the former employees. The company filed for bankruptcy on April 4. Attorney Kathy Santa Barbara, who represents the employees, says she may appeal Flatley's ruling.

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...

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The man, sporting a nice shirt and slacks, and his wife, in a white sweater, brown slacks and heels, present a picture of prosperity as they sit in Hagerstown City Hall. "Wow! You own a lot of property!" exclaims the man in a suit facing them across a table. Appearances are deceiving. Indeed, the Frederick couple owns six houses and a timeshare -- and so far, their attorney tells the suit-clad U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee, three have gone into foreclosure.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- It's hard to understand sometimes, this American system of forgiving debts. "It's just aggravating," said Irvin Martin, president of an area electrical contracting business, who is having to walk away from a debt of more than $27,000 owed him. Martin's company and many others across the nation are being left pretty much empty-handed as Americans in ever-increasing numbers file for bankruptcy protection from debts....

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- It's hard to understand sometimes, this American system of forgiving debts. "It's just aggravating," said Irvin Martin, president of an area electrical contracting business, who is having to walk away from a debt of more than $27,000 owed him. Martin's company and many others across the nation are being left pretty much empty-handed as Americans in ever-increasing numbers file for bankruptcy protection from debts....

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Not everyone is giving up. The numbers are small, but people facing foreclosure increasingly are turning to local nonprofit credit-counseling organizations trained to help. "Last year alone, we did like 15 (families facing foreclosure) for the whole year," said Donna Rose, housing counselor at Washington County's Community Action Council. "This (fiscal) year, just in October through December, we had already done 10, and that's continuing. So we are seeing a tremendous increase.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - The developer of a Berkeley County subdivision that has been criticized by property owners for leaving the residential project vulnerable to storm-water problems is claiming the county planning commission improperly intervened, according to a petition filed this month in circuit court. A petition filed on behalf of Apple Knolls LLC by attorney Kathy M. Santa Barbara asks the court to reverse an Oct. 1 Berkeley County Planning Commission decision to have the developers' bonds for Apple Knolls Estates pulled because the infrastructure-related work causing the drainage problems was not done.

Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series of stories about the local housing market and what's happening to residents as they grapple with rising interest rates, tightening credit, falling home prices and other economic issues. WASHINGTON COUNTY - When Donald Shumaker II refinanced his home in 2004, he knew the interest rate would stay the same for three years, after which it would become adjustable. But he didn't expect what happened. "I was paying $910 a month," he said, standing on the porch of his home east of Hagerstown.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. ? A developer's bankruptcy filing appears to have poked a hole in the Berkeley County Planning Commission's rules on bonds to ensure work is done correctly. Lawsuits now are likely because a subdivision was left substandard, according to the county's legal counsel. Acting on the advice of attorney Norwood Bentley III, Berkeley County Planning Commissioners on Monday night gave their president the authority to revoke what remains of bonds for four sections of Apple Knolls Estates subdivision, a project by Robert Petry of Hedgesville, W.Va.