U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge today appointed a Chapter 11 trustee for Renegade Holdings Inc., effective immediately.
The trustee is Peter Tourtellot, the managing director of Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos & Co., a turnaround-management company in Greensboro.
Tourtellot also had been nominated to serve as a chief restructuring officer by previous Renegade management.
Judge William Stocks denied that option during an expedited hearing before the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro.
He said that appointing Tourtellot as a trustee provides Renegade with someone with a strong business acumen to go along with the legal authority to run its operations. Tourtellot's appointment also was aimed at addressing creditors' concerns about day-to-day operations while Renegade is in bankruptcy.
Tourtellot declined to comment after the hearing, saying he needed to first talk with attorneys affected by his appointment before discussing plans for Renegade.
The appointment is the latest legal development regarding Renegade, Renegade Tobacco Co. and Alternative Brands Inc., and its 140 employees in Davie County,
On Thursday, Renegade's owner, Calvin Phelps, fired several key management officials and appointed a new chief executive.
In response, a group of 16 state attorneys general expressed "grave concerns" about the future of the companies in the motion for the expedited hearing.
Phelps was at the hearing, but was unavailable for comment.
The National Association of Attorneys General had requested the immediate removal of Phelps from any management responsibilities.
In their motion, the association said "the states have grave concern that the debtors may take actions in violation of the bankruptcy code, in violation of their fiduciary obligations to creditors, dissipate estate assets, or otherwise act in ways that are not in the best interest of creditors or the estate."
Renegade entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009.
It filed a reorganization plan in October 2009 that was opposed by the attorneys general but approved by other creditors. Stocks approved the reorganization plan April 23, and the companies left bankruptcy June 1.
On June 25, Phelps resigned as the chairman and chief executive as part of an effort to resolve legal issues with the attorneys general.
On July 19, Stocks vacated the reorganization plan upon hearing a presentation by the attorneys general about a criminal investigation in Mississippi — at least two years old — involving Phelps and accusations of "unlawful trafficking in cigarettes and other related crimes."
On Aug. 9, the U.S. Bankruptcy administrator for the Middle District of North Carolina filed a motion to bar Phelps from paying at least $17,500 in legal fees out of a $259,000 income-tax refund.
Stocks approved yesterday allowing Phelps to use the money to pay the legal fees since they came out of a personal account.
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