Judgments against Same Day approach $500,000

Four judgments against Dependable Same Day Service Inc. and its owner Ron Bass totaling $366,764 were ordered May 31 and June 5 in Greene County Circuit and Associate Courts.

The plaintiffs in those cases are Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages Inc., to which Bass owes more than $350,000 in unpaid advertising debts, and Potter Equipment Company Inc., to which Bass owes nearly $16,000.

Eight additional judgments against Bass and his 8-year-old residential repair and maintenance company totaling nearly $90,000 have been ordered in Greene County Court from April 1999 to March of this year. The plaintiffs in those cases are Fidelity Leasing Inc., Springfield Great Empire Broadcasting Inc., which is now Journal Broadcast Group Inc. and is the parent company of KTTS AM and FM, Lamar Advertising of Missouri Inc., a provider of billboard advertising, Springfield Operating LLC, the parent company of Springfield 33 television station, the Missouri Division of Employment Security and Bank of America.

A first hearing was held June 28 at the U.S. Courthouse in the involuntary bankruptcy petition against Bass and Dependable Same Day Service by Journal Broadcast Group, Lamar Advertising and Springfield Operating LLC.

The three companies filed the joint petition May 22 under Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code after three separate judgments against Bass and Same Day Service went unpaid. Journal, Lamar and Springfield Operating are owed an aggregate amount of more than $50,000 by Bass' company for unpaid advertising debts. Involuntary bankruptcy action can be taken against a company when at least three creditors hold unsecured claims aggregating at least $5,000 against the debtor. When applied to a business, Chapter 7 bankruptcy usually involves liquidation proceedings, in which assets are generally sold by a trustee to pay the company's debts.

Bass was not present at the hearing, but his attorney Raymond Plaster said Bass and Dependable Same Day Service Inc. admit the company is in a state of bankruptcy and asked Judge Arthur Federman to convert the Chapter 7 bankruptcy to a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which Plaster said would allow Bass to reorganize the company and pay its debts over time.

Judge Federman entered an order of relief based on consent of the debtor, and asked Plaster to submit a written motion. Judge Federman said he will appoint a trustee and make the decision to grant or deny Same Day Service's motion in a second hearing July 19 at 11 a.m.

If Same Day Service's motion to reorganize is granted, the trustee would monitor Bass' business practices for six months. If the motion to reorganize is denied and Same Day Service files Chapter 7 bankruptcy, its assets would be liquidated by the trustee to pay its creditors and it would most likely go out of business.

Attorney Dudley Martin represents Journal Broadcast Group, Lamar Advertising and Springfield Operating LLC in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, and said a Chapter 11 reorganization of Bass' company "would be an exercise in futility" because of the amount of debt Bass' company has amassed to its eight known creditors, which now totals $456,136.

The state of Missouri and the federal government have also imposed 14 tax liens totaling more than $90,000 on Bass dating from 1984 through 1999.

Bass said his business began losing money in 1998 as a result of two warm winters in a row.

According to its Web site at www.samedayservice.com, Dependable Same Day Service Inc. has locations in Omaha, Neb., Bellville, Ill., Macon, Columbia, Kansas City, Jefferson City, Washington, St. Louis, Farmington, Rolla, Lebanon, Cape Girardeau, Joplin, Springdale, Ark., Russellville, Ark. and Ft. Smith, Ark.

Editor's Note: Same Day Service's Web site also states "In 1997 Dependable Same Day Service was voted the number 1 service company in Springfield by the Springfield Business Journal. And it's remained number 1 ever since."

The Springfield Business Journal ranked Dependable Same Day Service as the largest plumbing contractor and service company in Springfield in a 1997 list. The list was ranked by number of full-time employees, which Bass listed at that time as 26. No vote was taken, and quality of service was not considered.