Trustee seeks sale of Country Inn assets

The U.S. Trustee overseeing The Country Inn bankruptcy case has asked the court to allow liquidation of the inn’s assets.

U.S. Trustee David Bissett, a Charleston attorney, requested two weeks ago that the Berkeley Springs hotel’s bankruptcy be converted from a Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 case. This means sale of the inn’s assets.

A hearing on Bissett’s motion has been set for Thursday, February 21, at 3:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Courtroom of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Martinsburg.

Those seeking to testify or present evidence at the hearing must file with the court’s clerk no later than Friday, February 15.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcies, fully secured creditors, such as banks holding mortgages, have a right to the property securing their loans.

The proceeds from whatever property is sold by the U.S. Trustee would be divided among creditors. But there are already hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens and court orders against 5042 Holdings Limited, the company that owns the inn, and individually against principals Nancy and Stjepan Sostaric.

Last July, CNB Bank planned to sell the inn on the courthouse steps, but the sale was halted when the owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The bank is owed about $3 million for loans on the inn and two other properties.

When the owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, they were told to produce a business reorganization plan by mid-November.

When this plan was not presented to the court, the inn was granted an extension until March 18.