Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Southern Rice & Cotton Says Turner Grain Bounced Million-Dollar Check

2 min read

Not a week can go by without another development in the case of Turner Grain Merchandising Inc. of Brinkley.

Last week, Southern Rice & Cotton LLC jumped into the mix and filed a lawsuit in Poinsett County Circuit Court against Turner and a number of defendants, including Jason Coleman, Turner’s vice president, and KBX Inc. of Benton.

Southern said that it began selling rice to the defendants in the fall of 2013. On July 22, Turner Grain allegedly wrote a hot check worth more than $1 million that was signed by Coleman and Dale Bartlett, Turner’s president.

Eventually, Turner paid $750,000 on the bounced check, but the balance of the debt is still outstanding.

Southern Rice also complains in the lawsuit that it delivered rice to Turner, but hasn’t been paid for it.

“As the ultimate purchaser, Southern Rice believes that Defendant KBX owes it payment for the rice,” the lawsuit said.

Southern said KBX knew or should have known about Turner Grains’ “financial problems and questionable activities” but didn’t warn Southern.

A KBX representative didn’t return a call for comment Thursday afternoon.

Southern is suing on several counts, including fraud, breach of contract and theft by deception. It is seeking an unspecified amount of money for damages. Southern is continuing to operate and expects to survive, even if it never collects the balance due from Turner.

Bankruptcy Delayed

If you were waiting last week for more details in Bartlett’s Chapter 12 bankruptcy filing, you will have to wait a little while longer.

Bartlett’s attorney Frederick Wetzel III of Little Rock asked if he could have until Oct. 6 to turn in his client’s more detailed bankruptcy filing.

Because of “the extreme particulars” of Bartlett’s farming business “and continued focus on and voluminous settlement discussions with other parties pertaining to the harvesting of [Bartlett’s] shared crops,” neither Bartlett nor Wetzel have been able to finish the bankruptcy schedules, which were due Friday, according to Wetzel’s motion filed on Thursday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Audrey Evans didn’t rule on the request by Thursday afternoon, when Whispers had to go to press.

Bartlett filed for Chapter 12 earlier this month and estimated up to $10 million in debt and assets between $1 million and $10 million.

Chapter 12 of the bankruptcy code is designated for “family farmers” with a regular annual income. Under Chapter 12, debtors propose a repayment plan and make installments to creditors over three to five years.

Send this to a friend