Creditors Ask Bankruptcy Status for Taiyo Development
Three creditors are trying to force a Japanese-owned real estate development company into bankruptcy proceedings, according to court papers.
The creditors filed a petition against Taiyo Development USA Inc., which has offices in Torrance and Newport Beach. The creditors seek to place the company in involuntary bankruptcy proceedings, alleging that it owes them $917,000, according to a filing Aug. 14 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Sept. 11, 1992 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday September 11, 1992 Orange County Edition Business Part D Page 2 Column 5 Financial Desk 2 inches; 70 words Type of Material: Correction
Company’s ownership--Heritage Holding Inc., formerly known as Taiyo Development USA Inc., is no longer owned or operated by Japanese real estate investors. Laurie Frost, president of Newport Beach-based Heritage Holding, is the sole shareholder of the company, which has proposed building housing developments in Anaheim and Arizona. Masao Horiuchi, president of CSI Finance USA Inc. in Santa Monica, said his company has provided financing to Heritage but does not own or manage that company.
The creditors are Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, a Los Angeles law firm that says Taiyo has owed it $284,364 over several years; Targhee Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Long Beach, $546,809; and Murphy & Maconachy Inc., $85,826.
Taiyo Development USA and affiliated companies were already involved in litigation. Taiyo agreed in November, 1989, to buy a 53-acre Anaheim property from Northrop Corp. for $39 million. The plan was to build a 1,341-unit condominium project on the site, but the deal fell apart.
The Orangethorpe Avenue property, once the location of one of Orange County’s largest defense plants, has been unused since Northrop closed the facility in 1989 and transferred its 2,000-employee work force to Hawthorne.
Northrop sued Taiyo in May, 1991, alleging that Taiyo failed to complete its acquisition of the property. Taiyo countersued a year ago, alleging that it was not told about widespread chemical contamination on the property. Northrop denied the charges, but Taiyo asked for $1 million in damages.
Officials at Taiyo, which also does business as Horizon Development Inc., would not comment Wednesday on the filing.
