Chapter 11

Severna Park Mall, a once-thriving shopping center turned retail graveyard, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week in a last-ditch effort to win approval of its owners' plan to revive it.The bankruptcy petition, filed Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore, did not give a precise amount of the near-empty mall's liabilities or assets, but debts to unsecured creditors were listed at more than $5 million. Among the creditors listed was the Anne Arundel County government, which is owed $150,630 in taxes.

The technology sector's downward spiral wasn't the only force Digex Inc. had to reckon with last year. It also had to face the backlash from the bankruptcy and accounting scandal of its majority shareholder, WorldCom Inc. But with the telephone giant set to emerge from Chapter 11 in the fall, Laurel-based Digex is expecting a boost in business from WorldCom. "There can be nothing but positive for Digex with WorldCom coming out of bankruptcy," said Andrew M. Schroepfer, who follows Digex and is president of Tier 1 Research in Minneapolis.

The home-grown bookstore chain that started nearly six years ago with great expectations opened the doors to all four of its Baltimore-area stores yesterday for the beginning of the end. There were no large going-out-of-business signs. No banners announcing discounted prices on the first day of a 90-day liquidation sale. Just a steady flow of loyal customers who read the bankruptcy notices posted on the doors, shook their heads and wondered aloud where they would go now that Bibelot was closing.

Confronted by mounting costs from clergy sex abuse lawsuits, the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., filed yesterday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - an unprecedented step for a Roman Catholic diocese that effectively cedes control of church operations to a federal judge. "No diocese has ever declared bankruptcy," said Charles Zech, an economist at Villanova University who studies church finance. "There's no precedent. They're taking a huge risk in turning over their operations to a civil judge."

NEW YORK -- Caldor Corp. sent its creditors a five-year business plan yesterday that it said will return the discount retailer to profitability.The Norwalk, Conn.-based company said such efforts won't help the company's performance soon, though. Caldor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 1995."While implementation of certain aspects of the plan have just begun and are showing initial positive results, they are not expected to impact the company's near-term performance," Caldor said.

A Baltimore circuit-board manufacturer once owned by former Baltimore Colts quarterback John C. Unitas and several partners has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.Atlantic Electronics Inc. filed for protection from creditors in Baltimore last week listing debts of $4 million and assets of $3.5 million.Atlantic Electronics was formed after Unitas and his partners sold the assets of National Circuits Inc. in 1990 to Atlantic for $1 million.National Circuits was in Reisterstown but was moved to a site in Seton Industrial Park in Baltimore, where Atlantic Electronics continues to do business.

In an unusual move, a major creditor of the defunct Bibelot book chain has asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge to appoint a trustee to oversee the personal bankruptcy cases of the chain's owners. A trustee would protect the creditors because the owners, Brian D. and Elizabeth G. Weese, have always intended "to prevent [their creditors] from reaching the assets that were fraudulently conveyed" to an offshore trust, according to papers filed this week by Bank of America in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore.

McCrory Corp., one of the most familiar names in the variety store business and a fixture in the Baltimore market since the 1950s, sought shelter from its creditors in bankruptcy court today.The Chapter 11 filing in lower Manhattan came as no surprise. On Feb. 15, McCrory defaulted on $3.37 million in debts and announced it was "considering its restructuring options." Company spokesmen were not available to comSee MCCRORY, 3E, Col. 1MCCRORY, from 1Ement but said they planned to issue a statement later today.

WASHINGTON - Bankruptcies, dominated by personal filings, fell by about 1 percent in the year that ended June 30, with business bankruptcies falling almost 4 percent, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said yesterday. The drop, to 1.63 million from 1.65 million bankruptcies of all kinds, is the first since 2000 for the 12-month period, the administrative office said. Four years ago, in the corresponding period, there were 1.27 million filings, the office said. Filings for personal bankruptcy for the period declined from 1.61 million in 2003 to 1.59 million in 2004.

Outdoors and military surplus store Sunny's Surplus is back in business less than a year after declaring bankruptcy for the second time in a decade - though on a much smaller scale. The retailer has opened three stores in Annapolis, Westminster and Frederick. It had 15 stores in January when it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It closed all of the stores at the time. Michael Weinman, who was the majority stockholder of Sunny's parent company and a member of the founding family, created an entity called New Sunny's to buy the company's remaining assets after most of them were sold in going-out-of-business sales earlier this year.