The Shipley’s Donuts in south Little Rock is going to U.S. Bankruptcy Court to buy its building.
Shipley’s, under its legal name, Geyer Springs Investments LLC, wants Bankruptcy Judge Richard D. Taylor to help force the sale from the building’s owner, RWL Investments LLC of Little Rock, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization a year ago.
Before the bankruptcy, Geyer Springs and RWL signed an agreement in December 2012 that called for RWL to sell the building for $250,000. Geyer Springs put down $100,000 and has since paid a little less than $3,000 a month.
Problems developed, though, when RWL filed for Chapter 11 and listed $8.6 million in debt and $11.1 million in assets. RWL’s bankruptcy filing shows it had 25 pieces of property, and most of those are in Little Rock and available for rent. One of RWL’s more famous properties is the historic Villa Marre in downtown Little Rock.
In a filing earlier this month, Geyer Springs said it wants to finish the payments for the property and obtain the deed, but RWL won’t take the steps in bankruptcy to make that happen.
Geyer Springs has asked Judge Taylor to require RWL to file the paperwork in bankruptcy court to complete the sale. Or if that doesn’t happen, Geyer Springs wants its money back.
RWL hasn’t answered the complaint as of Thursday, and its attorney Kevin Keech didn’t return a call for comment.
Since filing for bankruptcy on March 8 and through the end of January, RWL has lost $137,000.