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More than 100 Lawsuits Filed in In re Sturgis Iron & Metal Co, Inc.

James W. Boyd, the trustee recently filed a complaint against Bearcat Corp on 3/30/2010 to recover an allegedly voidable preferential transfer in amount of $8,874,000.00 under Chapter 11 Section 547 of the Bankruptcy Code. The Trustee has filed over 160 complaints so far, instituting preference actions against different vendors and other parties-in-interest in the bankruptcy cases of Sturgis Iron & Metal Co., Inc. These also include four other high-value lawsuits for the recovery of over $ 12 million. These lawsuits were filed against Cfs of Massachusetts, LLC for $7,772,000, Southern Company for $1,227,932.00, Asama Coldwater Manufacturing, Inc. for $874,771.00 and Morgan Olson, LLC for $870,991.00.

Sturgis Iron & Metal Co., Inc had voluntarily filed for protection in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids) on April 4, 2008. On May 4, 2009, the Bankruptcy Court signed the Order re Debtor's April 23, 2009 Plan confirming the Fourth Amended Plan of Liquidation of Sturgis Iron & Meal Co., Inc (the "April 23, 2009 Plan").

Sturgis Iron & Metal Co., Inc., a privately-held company operated nine scrap metal recycling facilities located in three states. The company also owns, operates, and maintains its own fleet of trucks and private railroad cars. In addition, its products and services include ferrous, non-ferrous, industrial, transportation and logistics, brokerage and trading, and consulting.

The adversary complaints which were recently filed seeks to recover payments made in the 90 days prior to the April 4, 2008 bankruptcy filings on the account that such payments were either preferential transfers pursuant to section 547, fraudulent conveyances pursuant to section 548, and/or recoverable post-petition transactions (because they may have cleared after the bankruptcy filings) pursuant to section 549. These transfers were thus entitled to be recovered as preferences by the Debtors' estates unless a valid defense is proved.

The U.S. case is In re Sturgis Iron & Metal Co., Inc, 08-02966-jrh, Bankruptcy Court for Western District of Michigan (Grand Rapids). Bankruptcy Judge Jeffrey R. Hughes is presiding over this case. The plaintiff has retained Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge PC as their attorneys.