Bankruptcy Filing

Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to introduce emergency legislation Wednesday that would give the state authority to acquire Maryland's bankrupt horse racing tracks and the Preakness through eminent domain, officials confirmed. However, legal experts say the bankruptcy filing by the tracks' owner could prevent the state from exercising that power. Debate on the bill, which has the backing of the General Assembly's presiding officers, could begin as soon as Thursday afternoon in a joint hearing of Senate and House of Delegates lawmakers.

In Monday's Business section, the incorrect type of bankruptcy filing was listed for Montage D'Elegance Ltd., 708 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville. The women's clothing retailer has filed for protection under Chapter 11.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 3/27/97

In March 24's editions of The Sun, the incorrect type of bankruptcy filing was listed for Montage D'Elegance Ltd., 708 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville. The women's clothing retailer has filed for protection under Chapter 11.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 3/31/97

...TC The owner of Nan Duskin, a three-store chain that specializes in upscale designer clothing, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Philadelphia.The company, ND Acquisition Inc., has a store at the Village of Cross Keys on Falls Road. It will remain open and there will be no layoffs, said Louis N. Marks, chairman and chief executive officer of ND Acquisition Inc.He said the company plans to add three people to the 15-person Baltimore sales force during the next year and to increase its inventory.

An article in early editions of The Sun Thursday incorrectlycharacterized the bankruptcy petition filed earlier in the week byDr. Neil Solomon. It was a Chapter 13 filing.The Sun regrets the errors.Dr. Neil Solomon has filed for bankruptcy, delaying proceedings in the multimillion-dollar lawsuits filed by three former patients who allege he improperly engaged in sexual relationships with them.The Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition was filed Monday in the federal bankruptcy court in Baltimore. Under Chapter 7, a court-appointed trustee distributes assets among creditors if there are assets to be applied to any debts.

Facing debts of more than $1 million stemming from a faile publishing company, Theodore G. "Ted" Venetoulis, a former Baltimore County executive and publishing executive, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday.The personal bankruptcy filing in federal court in Baltimore came more than a month after Maryland National Bank seized the assets of the Record Printing and Composition Co., a commercial printing operation in Silver Spring owned by Mr. Venetoulis and two other investors.

McCrory Corp., one of the last major retailers clinging to the declining variety store business, told creditors it was unable to pay $3.4 million in debt due today.Analysts said the announcement could foreshadow a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.The York, Pa.-based company said it was "examining all of its restructuring options."Paul Weiner, the company's chief financial officer, declined to comment.McCrory's announcement comes two months after the chain said it would close 229 stores, leaving it with about 820 across the country.

The phone call last week came as a shock. One of the last things Melissa and Maurice Dashiell wanted to hear from their homebuilder's salesman was that the company, NVR L.P., had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.But by Sunday, the young couple were feeling confident. They drove to King's Charter, the Bel Air subdivision where the foundation for their four-bedroom colonial had been poured recently. They were pleased to see that the wood for framing the home had been delivered on time.

Four real estate partnerships that run the 28-story St. Paul Plaza office tower downtown have filed to reorganize more than $42 million of debt under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.The partnerships are headed by developer David W. Kornblatt, 63, who's been a major player on the Baltimore real estate scene for more than three decades.Seventy-one creditors are listed in the bankruptcy filing, which took place in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore Friday, Mr. Kornblatt said yesterday.

One of Baltimore's best-known off-site caterers has filed for reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore.Charles Levine, owner of Owings Mills-based Charles Levine Ltd., said his catering company filed under Chapter 11 Thursday because it was unable to pay its creditors on loans it took out to start an on-site catering operation in the Scarlett Place condominiums at the Inner Harbor two years ago.Mr. Levine said yesterday that the catering company is still reeling from the expenses related to that venture, despite the fact he closed it down in late December to focus on his flagship off-site catering operation, which he started in 1984.

Man dies in Abingdon when pickup hits tree 3 A man was killed in Abingdon early Friday when his pickup truck hit a tree, according to state police. The crash was reported at 1:47 a.m. on southbound Emmorton Road just before Porter Drive, according to police. The man was not immediately identified, pending notification of relatives. - Liz F. Kay Bankruptcy filing unlikely to harm communties' ratings 4 Fitch Ratings said this week that Catonsville-based Erickson Retirement Communities' Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing should have "no effect" on the bond ratings of the Baltimore-area communities it developed, Charlestown and Oak Crest.

General Motors Corp. shares fell as much as 19 percent Monday in the wake of a report that the troubled automaker has been directed by the U.S. Treasury to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by June 1. GM's stock, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, ended the session down 16.2 percent at $1.71 and is now down 47 percent since the beginning of the year. Members of President Barack Obama's automotive task force are holding meetings and conference calls with GM officials and their advisers in Detroit and Washington, according to The New York Times, with the goal of preparing for a fast "surgical" bankruptcy.

Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to introduce emergency legislation Wednesday that would give the state authority to acquire Maryland's bankrupt horse racing tracks and the Preakness through eminent domain, officials confirmed. However, legal experts say the bankruptcy filing by the tracks' owner could prevent the state from exercising that power. Debate on the bill, which has the backing of the General Assembly's presiding officers, could begin as soon as Thursday afternoon in a joint hearing of Senate and House of Delegates lawmakers.

Delta Air Lines Inc., the third-largest U.S. carrier, predicted yesterday that its loss would widen to as much as $675 million in the third quarter, pushing the airline closer to a possible bankruptcy filing. Cash reserves were $1.45 billion Sept. 30, the company said in a filing, increasing pressure on the Atlanta airline to agree with pilots on $1 billion in wage and benefit concessions. Delta shares had climbed almost 30 percent this week as the airline and its pilots union discussed an agreement, and fell 79 cents, or nearly 19 percent, to close at $3.42.

ARLINGTON, Va. - US Airways Group Inc. and its pilots union will begin meeting every weekday starting today to speed talks on $300 million in proposed concessions that would help the carrier avoid a second bankruptcy filing. The meetings at the airline's headquarters follow "irregular" sessions, Air Line Pilots Association spokesman Jack Stephan said yesterday. Company executives, including Chief Executive Officer Bruce Lakefield, made a presentation Wednesday to the union, which represents about 3,000 active pilots and 1,879 who have been laid off. "Both sides realized we need to pick up the pace a little bit," Stephan said.

About 3,000 companies, partnerships, ventures and consultants are being drawn into U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York because they received money from Bethlehem Steel during the 90 days before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The defendants include a Maryland college, a Cleveland uniform company, a Lehigh Valley computer company, a Bethlehem, Pa., photographer and a retired chairman of Bethlehem Steel Corp. The actions came because bankruptcy court is wary of "sweetheart deals leading up to the bankruptcy - the equivalent of inside trading," said Bruce Davis, counsel to the Retired Employees' Benefits Coalition at the former Bethlehem Steel.

Magellan Health Services Inc. made official yesterday what the Columbia mental health company had been talking about for months, voluntarily filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Steven J. Shulman, the relentlessly upbeat chief executive officer who came on board in December, termed the filing "a very exciting and positive development for the company." Magellan brings in enough money to cover operating expenses, he said, but "we just can't service our debt." An acquisition push in the mid-'90s bought Magellan three of the four largest companies in its field, but also ran up more than $1 billion in debt.

Encompass Capital Inc. is closing its central Maryland offices in Columbia, leaving 139 workers without jobs by May, according to a report the company filed with the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. It is the latest round of bad news for the large Texas company, which filed for bankruptcy protection in November and whose chief executive resigned a month later. The closure is "a result of a lack of work" for the company's mechanical division, which supplied heating and air conditioning service and maintenance for area businesses, said Mary Wiggins, director of corporate communications for Houston-based Encompass Capital.

NEW YORK - Warnaco Group Inc., maker of Calvin Klein jeans and underwear, Speedo swimwear and Olga bras, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. It blamed its troubles on a heavy debt load from acquisitions and licensing agreements and a slowing economy. Warnaco listed debts of more than $3 billion, including $2.6 billion owed to 29 banks and financial institutions. The company's assets are $2.37 billion, according to papers filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. "Over the past decade, the company has grown significantly through a series of mergers, acquisitions and other transactions," Warn- aco General Counsel Stanley Silverstein said in an affidavit filed with the court.

Facing a billion dollars in potential asbestos liability, W. R. Grace & Co. has seen its stock lose nearly half its value over the past two days, since the bankruptcy filing of Owens Corning, another major asbestos defendant. Grace, a chemical company with headquarters in Columbia, issued a statement yesterday saying it had received "numerous investor inquiries" on the impact of the Owens Corning filing. Basically, "it's too soon to tell," said Greg Euston, a Grace spokesman. Grace shares closed yesterday at $3.81, down 75 cents for the day and down $3.13, or 45 percent, over the two days.