Cemetery goes under; two other companies file bankruptcy

Business bankruptcies skyrocketed this week.

Three businesses have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past few days: a cemetery outside Petersburg, a business that ran two gas stations and an excavation company in Chesterfield.

Dinwiddie Memorial Park, which lists Ronald Hess as the president, owes between $500,000 and $1 million.

Dinwiddie tax records show that the property has 23.17 acres and is assessed at around $250,000. BizSense was unable to reach Robert Westermann, a lawyer with Hirschler Fleischer who is representing the business. Several creditors reached by phone said they were not aware that the company had filed for Chapter 11. A representative at J.B. Mulch who asked that his name not be used said the cemetery had not been answering phones and was two or three months behind on paying invoices.

Cemeteries all over the country are struggling as more families opt for the cheaper option of cremation. You can read about that in a USA Today story here.  See the full bankruptcy filling here.

The cemetery owes $17,900 to a granite company from Georgia. The other local unsecured creditors are:

•    Andrew Barwick & Lee (an accounting firm): $5,223
•    Dinwiddie County: $865
•    The Progress-Index: $558
•    J.B. Mulch: $465
•    Delta Oil Commercial: $502

Chesterfield-based Tim Newcomb Enterprises, which is doing business as Tim Newcomb Transport and according to the Better Business Bureau is an excavation company, has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

It’s possible that the company was pinched because clients were late in paying. That’s speculation, but the company lists accounts receivable at more than $300,000. When reached by phone, Newcomb did not want to discuss the case. Income at the businesses fell from $1.7 million in 2008 to $764,524 so far this year, according to the filing, which is linked to below.

The business lists an address at 4219 Gloucestershire St. in Ches and lists Timothy Newcomb as the president. The filing lists assets of $550,500, which is personal property, and liabilities of $942,500.

You can see a full filing here.

The largest local unsecured creditors are:

•    Colony Construction: $76,866
•    Richmond Homes Concrete: $62,924
•    J.L. Gomer Equipment Co.: $51,727
•    Amelia County: $33,526
•    Virginia Site Concepts: $26,847
•    Luck Stone Corp: $27,551
•    Woodfin Watchcard: $26,353
•    Subterra Utilities: $25,000
•    Peachtree Hauling: $19,313
•    Volvo Rents: $14,463
•    Carl Henshaw Drainage: $11,182
•    Rue and Associates: $9,700
•    L.S. Lee $5,314
•    Yard Works: 5,166
•    Southside Equipment & Truck: $4,876

Finally, Richmond Petroleum Marketing has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company lists its address as 2301 Mechanicsville Turnpike, which is a Citgo gas station. The filing also lists a store/gas station at Willow Lawn. Altaf Ladhani is the president of the company. You can see a full filing here.

The largest local creditors with dollar figures listed are:

•    Wachovia National Bank $36,000
•    Virginia Lottery: $10,750
•    Virginia Department of Taxation: $1,236

Other local creditors include: Dominion, Anthem, California Imports, Canada Dry, Potomac Corp. and City Ice.

Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to Editor@richmondbizsense.com.