ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) - Almost $80 million that more than 100 businesses, investors, government entities and others claim they’re owed won’t be paid out in bankruptcy proceedings for the Northern Beef Packers plant in South Dakota.
Court documents show there’s slightly more than $1 million available to pay a long list of bills, the American News reported . Attorney Forrest Allred, the bankruptcy trustee, told the newspaper that the available money will cover administration fees, wage claims and some back taxes.
Of the $1.08 million available for claim payments, $214,331 has been spent, and the bankruptcy court is considering $329,403 in payments to cover bankruptcy and attorney fees.
Allred said $180,000 of the money already spent went to a settlement in a class action lawsuit to cover a portion of the lost wages of workers.
There are 60 more individual wage claims that haven’t been resolved. Allred said the remaining funds will be depleted by the tax claims once wage claims are addressed.
That will leave 111 unsecured claims totaling more than $79 million unpaid. But Allred said that figure hasn’t been verified since there isn’t enough money to cover it.
Northern Beef operated a beef processing plant in Aberdeen from 2012 until July 2013, when the company laid off its employees, filed bankruptcy and closed.
The plant was sold at a bankruptcy sale in December 2013. The new ownership group has no ties or obligations to the bankruptcy proceedings.
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Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com
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