GSR objects to more claims
by Rick Catlin. islander Reporter
Fresh with victory in the successful objection in January to 24 unsecured claims, lawyers for bankrupt GSR Development LLC last week filed 17 more objections to unsecured claims totaling more than $4 million.
Ironically, one claim on the objection list is that of Robert and Arlene Byrne for approximately $2 million.
Byrne is a GSR principal who has now been placed into involuntary bankruptcy by several creditors. In addition, he is now divorced from Arlene Byrne and living in Chicago. Byrne had claimed he had loaned GSR money to keep it operating during its financial difficulties and was due his share of the profit if the court had sold any GSR properties as part of the bankruptcy. None did.
Other claims of interest belong to Betsy Hills of Hills Real Estate and Paul Gallizzi, a former partner of Byrne and GSR principal Steve Noriega in Spectrum Management, the company that was actually developing a number of GSR properties including the $2.5 million model home at GSR’s Villa Rosa project on South Bay Boulevard in Anna Maria.
That house has never been occupied and needs an estimated $800,000 in further work before it could pass inspection for a certificate of occupancy, Gallizzi has said.
One of the 15-plus banks involved in the GSR bankruptcy now owns the house and property as Byrne and Noriega have given up all interests in GSR properties.
Creditors on the objection list have until March 24 to respond to the objection through federal bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May. The federal courthouse is located at 801 N. Polk St. in Tampa.
May ruled in favor of the 24 objections after none of the creditors responded by the court-imposed deadline. Among those creditors were LaPensee Plumbing, Island Lumber and the law firm of Kirk-Pinkerton.
The total amount of unsecured claims in the GSR bankruptcy at one time was more than $6.5 million, although Island businessman Kent Davis, with $600,000 in claims, was able to recover all but $135,000 through legal actions separate from the bankruptcy.
Davis, along with Island residents Mel and Carol Yudofsky, have forced Byrne into involuntary bankruptcy in an effort to recover more of their investments with GSR. The Yudofskys have approximately $385,000 invested with the now bankrupt company. |