Sale Should Satisfy Elkins Tire’s Debts
By ANTHONY GAYNOR and CARRA HIGGINS, Staff WriterProceeds from the sale of the Elkins Tire Co. building and its adjacent property along Randolph Avenue should satisfy liens and other outstanding debts, according to the business' attorney.
The purchase of the property occurred two days after a Kanawha County judge ordered the business to closed for not paying workers' compensation.
"Whatever the problem was, it has been taken care of and all the claims against the business have been released," Busch, Zurbuch & Thompson attorney John Busch said. "The price paid for the property was sufficient to pay off all debts including state liens and borrowing liens."
Busch, Zurbuch & Thompson is representing Elkins Tire Co. President Kenneth Paugh Sr. through the sale of the property. Busch said he has not seen any orders that were filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court and that the business was sold on Oct. 30.
The Myles Family Foundation, a charitable trust, paid $800,000 for five parcels of land formerly owned by Elkins Tire Co., according to the deed dated Oct. 30. Each parcel is located along Randolph Avenue in the Graceland Hills addition to the city of Elkins. Records in the Randolph County Assessor's Office document the parcels of land and its structures as having an assessed value of $196,320. The Myles Family Foundation intends to donate the property to Davis & Elkins College.
In February, a final order was issued in Kanawha County stating that Elkins Tire Co. President Kenneth Paugh Sr. had not paid two calendar quarters of workers' compensation to the West Virginia Insurance Commission. The order states that the business could not operate and the business could not sell or transfer any assets until Paugh would enter into a repayment agreement.
On April 29, a Notice of Order and Dismissal for the case was entered into Kanawha County Circuit Court. The dismissal ended the injunction against the business.
On Sept. 3, an order to show cause was filed. The plaintiff, West Virginia Insurance Commission, claimed Paugh should be held in contempt of court because he continued to operate a business before the dismissal order was filed. The court ordered Paugh to appear before the court on Oct. 22. If Paugh did not appear, the sanctions would be a physical closing of the business, seizure of the office fixtures, equipment and inventory, imposition of a fine and any other relief the court could deem appropriate.
Since Paugh did not appear at the Oct. 22 hearing, a contempt order was issued. According to the contempt order filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court, Paugh or any legal council did not appear at the hearing.
The contempt order was posted at all entrances to the business on Oct. 28 by the Randolph County Sheriff's Department and the business was closed.
According to the order, Paugh was fined $10,000 for being held in contempt. The orders also states that if the business was found to still be operating, the Randolph County Sheriff's Department was ordered to physically evacuate and close the business and "render it inoperable via chains and padlocks, or any other practicable method as determined by the sheriff."
Ten liens still exist on the property pending finalization of paperwork. Wells Fargo currently holds one lien on the Elkins Tire Co. land and the IRS holds two liens totaling $17,382.79. The West Virginia State Tax Department has four liens, which total $99,355.88. The Office of the Insurance Commission (worker's compensation) has three liens on the property.
According to Busch, most of the liens were taken care of when the transfer of property went through on Oct. 30. Busch said the remaining liens should be released soon.
Several other liens existed on the property but were released between 1990 and Oct. 30, 2008, according to lien records.
Busch said when the property transfer was finalized, a customer's car that was being held on the property was released. He said winter tires purchased by several individuals were also being held at the property.
"People need to come and get tires that were being held for the change of seasons," Busch said. "We have arranged to have an auction to sell the rest of the inventory."
Busch said the auction has been tentatively scheduled for Dec. 6.
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eagleb
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11-06-08 1:03 PM
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Elkins Tire has been an institution in your town for as long as I can remember. It is the one of the first things I looked for when coming home. It is a shame that the owner(s) could not follow the law. I will be sad to see it go. Another part of Elkins dies.
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