Office Concepts faces lawsuit from leasing company

Less than a month after Office Concepts of Missouri closed its doors, a Springfield leasing company filed suit against the 25-year copier and printer service and equipment provider.

Owner Steve Moore and his wife Shanda Moore shut down Office Concepts, 1723 W. Sunshine St., on Nov. 14 following a couple of years where the couple experienced declining sales, health issues and a September 2013 fire that increased insurance rates.

On Nov. 26, Meyer Leasing Co. filed a civil suit in Greene County Circuit Court seeking $82,232 plus 7 percent interest dating back to Sept. 15. The filing claims Meyer Leasing issued a promissory note on Jan. 2 for $92,232 and that the Office Concepts made installment payments of $1,250 a month until payments were missed in September and October.

Steve Moore said by email the Moores and Office Concepts personally guaranteed several high-risk equipment leases that were in default and held by Meyer Leasing. With the company now closed, Moore said they are no longer able to make payments. In November, Moore said the closure was prompted by a bleak financial reality.

“It’s as if there were 12 holes in the dyke, and we could only plug 10 of them at any given time,” he said last month.

Online court records reveal a string of 17 judgments secured by the Missouri Department of Revenue for unpaid taxes by Office Concepts dating back to August 2013. The judgments range from $1,414 to $4,838 and total over $56,000. In addition, the Division of Employment Security won three judgments against Office Concepts during that time that total over $11,000.

Last month, Moore said he and his wife were going through bankruptcy classes with Springfield attorney David Schroeder, but no decision to file for bankruptcy protection has been made to date, according to online records.