CraneWatchdog Latest Updates

Last night the boom on an Allegiance Crane & Equipment Liebherr came crashing down on 17th Street in downtown Hollywood, FL.

Although it was working in a tight spot, next to an apartment building, the boom collapsed in the middle of the street. There were no injuries, and damages were limited to the crane itself and to the pavement.

Allegiance was working on the construction of the Hollywood Academy of Arts & Science, a charter school being built by JJW Construction of Ft. Lauderdale. The $20 million project broke ground last month, and the school is scheduled to open in August 2012. The school is a replacement for the current Hollywood Academy, which is next door to the accident scene.

Sources on the scene took the photos below immediately after the accident (they were taken at night, some with a cell phone camera, so while the quality is not great, the problem is obvious):

CraneWatchdog personnel in Florida returned to the scene this morning. The accident has been cleared up, although the damage to the crane and to the street can be seen in the photos below:

We happened to visit this jobsite earlier this week, before the accident, and took the photos below:

The accident was first reported by TV station WPLG Channel 10, which showed the boom in the middle of the street. The Sun Sentinel newspaper posted a story on the accident this morning, which includes a video.

Earlier this month we reported on Zeiger's default on two court orders that settled a dispute with the Ford Motor Credit Co. over four trucks in its possession. Yesterday, the court granted Ford relief from the bankruptcy stay with respect to a 2010 Ford F150 (VIN# 1FTFX1EV2AFB75915) and a 2010 Ford F250 (VIN# 1FTSW2BRXAEB15787).

The orders allow Ford to immediately repossess the trucks, sell them, and apply the proceeds of the sales to the amount owed to it by Zeiger. We will continue to monitor this dispute and report any further developments.

UPDATE 01/30/2012 – according to new filings in the case, Zeiger made last minute payments of $7,018.80 and $7,338.32 to Ford, avoiding repossession of the trucks. Ford has filed motions to vacate the repossession orders.

As reported in a December 20, 2011 update, IUOE Local 369 prevailed in its lawsuit against the Music City Center Authority. We received a copy of the written decision that found the Authority is required to provide unredacted certified payrolls, including employee home addresses, to IUOE Local 369 on or before February 15, 2012. There is no indication whether the Music City Center Authority will appeal the ruling.

According to a federal court filing, Support Our Troops will regain possession of the two vessels currently being held by Beyel Brothers. The parties have agreed that Support Our Troops will pay $75,000 to the court clerk as security for release of the vessels. They also seek expedited consideration of the filing since a tug is standing by to remove the vessels from Beyel's property tomorrow, January 27, 2012.

Despite agreeing to a settlement on the adversary proceeding initiated by the bankruptcy trustee, Kyle Lewis is refusing to go along with its terms. As reported in an October 27, 2011 update, the court approved the settlement over the objections of Lewis creditors SL Financial Services Corp. and Frost National Bank. The terms included the entry of a $4.7 million judgment against Kyle Lewis.

According to the motion filed by the trustee earlier this month, Lewis is refusing to execute and deliver the judgment according to the settlement's terms. He is now seeking the court's help to force Lewis to comply.

In other Lewis bankruptcy news, the court has settled the dispute over the Lewis Crane of Nevada bank account in possession of Wells Fargo. An order was issued earlier this month directing Wells Fargo to surrender the funds in the account to Frost National Bank; however, Wells Fargo is authorized to deduct the amount of its legal fees from these funds.

Zeiger Creditor Lawsuits: GE Capital Settles,
People's v. Wells Fargo Fight Continues

Zeiger Crane's sale of four cranes to Exact Crane and Cleveland Crane for $3.75 million last year continues to generate controversy.

As first reported on by Cranewatchdog in May, Zeiger creditor People's filed suit against Wells Fargo, Exact Crane, and Cleveland Crane over the sale. In November 2011, People's filed an amended complaint alleging an additional two counts of conspiracy to commit conversion and civil theft. The filing also provides a more detailed account of the events leading up to the sale, including the dispatch of Wells Fargo's "goon squad" to Zeiger's property in attempt to obtain assets after learning of the sale of its collateral in January 2011.

Wells Fargo filed a motion to dismiss portions of the amended complaint and an answer, both claiming that it was entitled to take possession of and sell the cranes, and retain the proceeds. The response by People's and the reply that followed from Wells Fargo continued to spar over which of the two parties had priority concerning the cranes. Exact also submitted an answer denying People's allegation that the cranes were purchased for less than fair market value.

According to the federal court docket, a mediation hearing between the parties is set for January 25, 2012. Cranewatchdog will continue to monitor the case for further developments.

The second lawsuit concerning the sale, between GE Capital and Exact Crane, reached a settlement effective December 13, 2011. Under the settlement Exact is required to make payments to GE Capital through April 2012. The case will remain pending until 14 days after the final payment has been received by GE Capital.

Beyel's lawsuit against an all-volunteer charity that sends care packages to troops stationed overseas is getting more media attention and appears to be a hot topic in some social media circles. Click here for one example, which includes a video interview with Support the Troops founder Bob Williams.

We heard from Mr. Williams, who claims that Beyel's actions amount to "modern day piracy." Mr. Williams told us that he had a "handshake deal" with Beyel, who he believed was making a charitable gesture to support his non-profit's cause. According to Mr. Williams:

According to an article in Nashville's Tennessean newspaper, the Music City Center convention hall has lost two and possibly three major bookings due to an expected delay in its opening, currently scheduled for April 2013. One group backed out even though its annual meeting was scheduled for June 2013. According to the article, the delays are caused by a "series of setbacks, including flooding in Thailand that has delayed the manufacture of carpet for Music City Center."

Yesterday we reported on a Tampa Bay Times article concerning a $53,210 bill Beyel Brothers charged to Support Our Troops founder Bob Williams. Further investigation revealed that Beyel filed a lawsuit in federal court concerning the same issue on January 10th against James King, the co-founder of another charity serving the troops.

James King and his wife, Karin, founded Treats for Troops to provide care packages, including home-baked cookies and toiletries, to our troops. In 2008, Treats for Troops partnered with Bob Williams and his charity, Support Our Troops. Together they send 24 tons of care packages each month. Florida watercraft records show that the 165-foot ship donated to Support Our Troops is registered to James King.

Beyel's complaint alleges that a company representative and a King representative agreed to the "discounted" dockage rate of $2 per foot per day for the 165-foot ship and a 70-foot yacht, which was not mentioned in the Tampa Bay Times article. According to the exhibits attached to the complaint Steve Beyel was the salesperson on the transaction and the order was placed by Bob Williams, founder of Support Our Troops.

In addition to the dockage fees for the two boats (totaling $38,070) Beyel also charged $260 per day (totaling $12,220) for daily inspections and supervision. Not only is Beyel seeking this $50,290, plus interest, but also a salvage award for services the company allegedly provided to prevent the 165-foot ship from sinking at its dock and a lien on the 70-foot yacht.

While Beyel Brothers claims to support our troops on its Facebook page, this support apparently does not extend to charities providing services to our brave men and women serving overseas.

During the holiday season many of us kept our troops stationed abroad in our thoughts – apparently so did Beyel Brothers. Last month the owner of Support Our Troops, Inc. received a $53,210 bill from the company for three months of dockage fees on a 163-foot ship that was donated to the charity.

Through his charity Support Our Troops, Bob Williams, a retired business owner and Vietnam veteran, sends over 200 care packages to U.S. troops stationed overseas each week. These boxes contain everyday items we take for granted, like coffee and toiletries, that are not readily accessible in places troops are stationed, like Afghanistan and Iraq. While the items are donated by generous companies and individuals, Williams uses his own funds and donations from the community to pay for postage. With postage rates of approximately $1 per pound, the charity spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on providing our troops with the comforts of home.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, approximately eight months ago two boats were donated to Support Our Troops, which Williams planned to take to Haiti to establish a ship-painting school that would earn money to defray some the charity's costs. After engine issues stranded one of the ships off the Canaveral coast a Beyel representative expressed the company's willingness to help and that there would be no problem with docking the ship at their yard. Williams believed this to be a gracious offer made because of his charitable efforts. Beyel had other ideas, charging $2 per foot of boat per day in dockage fees without Williams' knowledge.

Unable to pay the $53,210 bill, Williams is now on the verge of losing the boat to Beyel. He claims he has made 26 calls to Beyel Brothers, all of which have been unreturned.

Yesterday's item on the $1.2 million judgment against Steve Zeiger was just the latest in a long line of judgments against crane company owners who have personally guaranteed company loans, then defaulted on those loans as they spiraled into bankruptcy.

Now Mack Financial adds to this list with an $88,613 default judgment against Jason Retterath. As originally reported June 14, 2011 below, Mack sued Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath, the former co-owners of General Crane, alleging that they personally guaranteed a defaulted loan for six Mack trucks. Although Jim Robertson has filed an answer and otherwise defended himself, Jason Retterath has never made an appearance in the case. The case against Robertson remains pending.

Cranewatchdog.com has reported extensively on the litigation between Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. and debtors Zeiger Crane, Atlantic Leasing, and Steve Zeiger. On January 4th, the Palm Beach County Circuit Court entered a judgment against Steve Zeiger for $1.2 million, according to the terms of the settlement reached between the parties in the Zeiger bankruptcy proceeding.

The lawsuit was filed by Caterpillar in 2010 seeking to repossess six cranes and two trucks and alleging that Zeiger and his companies defaulted on loans worth an excess of $5.2 million. After the case against Zeiger's companies was stayed due to bankruptcy Caterpillar continued to pursue Zeiger personally. In response Zeiger Crane filed an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy case to stay any further litigation against Steve Zeiger.

As previously reported, a settlement was reached between the parties this summer. The terms included Steve Zeiger's consent to the entry of a $1.2 million judgment against him in this case. However, Caterpillar agreed to a three year forbearance during which it will not require Zeiger to make payments on the judgment unless Zeiger's company defaults on the terms of its bankruptcy reorganization plan.

In October Cranewatchdog reported on the first lawsuit filed against Allegiance Crane & Equipment; today, we bring you information on the second.

Allegiance was hired by Americrane under a subcontract to supply a crane and an operator for the move of a building onto an existing slab. As the building was being moved the crane lost its balance, causing the crane operator to drop it more than five feet.

Ransor, Inc., the construction provider that hired Americrane, sued Allegiance in Travis County, Texas for the damages it incurred resulting from "faulty operation of the crane." The complaint states that Allegiance held itself out as a "competent, dependent, and loyal" company with the ability to move the building safely. However, the services that were ultimately provided by Allegiance "did not conform to the character and quality" required by the contract.

For unknown reasons Ransor released Allegiance from the lawsuit less than a month after it was filed but not before Allegiance filed an answer in which it denied all of the allegations made by Ransor. In its answer Allegiance also moved for a change of venue to Colorado County, Texas, where the incident actually occurred. There is no indication the case has been re-filed there. We will continue to monitor this case for further developments.

As reported in a September 16, 2011 update, the court entered two agreed orders settling a dispute between Zeiger Crane and Ford Motor Credit Co. The orders required Zeiger to make scheduled payments on the 2 Ford F250s, Ford F550, and Ford F150 in its possession.

Yesterday Ford submitted two affidavits (See Ford F250 affidavit and Ford F550 and Ford F150 affidavit) stating that Zeiger failed to make any of the required payments on the trucks, resulting in a default. According to the orders Zeiger has 10 calendar days from the submission of the affidavits to cure the defaults, which now total $29,519.60. If Zeiger fails to make that payment Ford will be entitled to an order granting them relief from the automatic stay, allowing Ford to repossess, sell, and apply the proceeds of the trucks' sale to the existing debt.

As reported in previous updates, General Crane's assets were purchased out of bankruptcy by Allegiance Crane & Equipment, LCC, a new crane company majority-owned by Prophet Equity and managed by Jim Robertson. Prophet Equity, a Texas-based private equity firm, specializes in the turnaround of "distressed' businesses.

In November 2011, three separate lawsuits were filed in connection with one of Prophet Equity's recently acquired companies, Cummings Signs. Prophet Equity purchased Cummings' assets out of foreclosure and formed a new entity, Cummings Resources, to operate the business in the future. All three of suits filed allege breach of contract following Prophet Equity's takeover of Cummings.

LK Finance, a Tennessee consulting firm, alleges that Cummings has not only failed to pay the company according to the contract terms, but also informed the company that it does not plan to pay any of the amount owed. A leaseholder on properties rented by Cummings in Tennessee and Alabama, CP Alabama, alleges that Cummings has not paid rent or utilities since the start of the lease in April 2011. Thus far, Cummings owes $28,766.44 in utilities.

Lastly, Stephen Kerr, the former President of Cummings Signs, is suing Cummings Resources, Prophet Equity, and Prophet Equity principal Brian Hegi. Kerr alleges that he discussed his employment terms with Prophet Equity a number of times and was assured that he would remain at Cummings for at least 4 years. Relying on those discussions he signed a non-compete agreement. Kerr was fired less than three months after Prophet Equity's acquisition of Cummings.

More details on this litigation, and on Allegiance, Robertson and Prophet Equity, will be posted in the upcoming Allegiance Crane section of this website.

IUOE Local Wins Suit Against Music City Center; General Crane Seeks to Recover Millions

Yesterday a Davison County, TN judge ruled that Nashville's Music City Center Authority must provide unredacted certified payrolls to IUOE Local 369. As reported previously, the Music City Center is a $600 million convention center project in downtown Nashville, funded in part with federal Build America Bonds.

The Authority redacted worker addresses on certified payrolls provided to IUOE's mid-Tennessee Local 369, and charged thousands of dollars for the time spent blacking out the information. As reported on November 15, 2011, Local 369 sued to gain access to the unredacted records (not including social security numbers).

The judge's written ruling will be posted here when it is released by the court.

IUOE Local 369 was represented by Debbie Godwin of the firm Godwin Morris. This case marks the second time Ms. Godwin has won a suit on behalf of a union seeking access to certified payroll records. The Authority was represented by Charles Robert Bone of the Nashville firm Bone McAllester, which is collecting fees of $18,500 per month to provide legal services for the Authority.

Once the certified payrolls are turned over by the Authority, the IUOE will be conducting a study to determine just how close Mayor Karl Dean came to his promise that a "vast majority" of workers on the project would be local residents. The Authority has said that just over 60% of the workers on this project are local, but has refused to release data backing up this claim. See our Ceco/Music City Center section for more.

Earlier this month General Crane's bankruptcy trustee filed a number of adversary cases against parties the company had done business with prior to filing for bankruptcy in 2009. Notably it filed four separate cases against Republic Enterprises, another Jason Retterath and Jim Robertson owned company, and other parties to recoup payments it made on Republic's behalf within the last four years. Republic owned General Crane's yards in Houston and Atlanta, and currently owns two mobile home lots adjacent to General Crane's Pompano Beach headquarters (now the home of Retterath's Hunter/Merchant).

The trustee argues that the payments were fraudulently made by General Crane – either intending to hinder creditors or agreeing to receive less than the reasonable equivalent of the payment from Republic. He also argues that the payments were made as a loan to Republic, and Republic's failure to repay the loan breached their contract. The payments at issue include:

In good news for bankruptcy creditors, if the court allows the trustee to void all of these transfers the bankruptcy trust stands to gain an additional $2,930,478.63.

We are in the process of updating Beyel's Litigation records throughout the state of Florida. In Palm Beach County, Beyel settled one case but was hit with two more.

In the previously reported case Miller v. Beyel, the plaintiff sued after she was allegedly run over by a Beyel vehicle that was exiting a McDonald's in West Palm Beach (the plaintiff was riding her bicycle on the sidewalk). As the parties prepared for trial, Beyel filed a Motion to Exclude Evidence of Plaintiff's Occupation, claiming that "Plaintiff will attempt to introduce evidence of Plaintiff's profession and work with the blind and deaf in order to garner sympathy from the jury." The case settled before trial, and before a ruling on this motion.

Since that settlement, two more motorists have sued, in the cases McGrath v. Beyel and Moise v. Beyel.. The Moise case involves a Beyel vehicle that was apparently backing out of Beyel's yard. See our Beyel Litigation page for summaries and filings from dozens of state and federal court cases involving Beyel Brothers.

As explained in the October 14, 2011 Update below, many of Beyel Brothers' delinquent property tax accounts have gotten so old, and/or been paid by third-party investors, that they have been essentially erased off the public record.

This trend has continued in the past two months, as county tax collectors around Florida prepare for 2012, and records for many delinquent accounts from 2010 and previous years are no longer accessible. But Beyel is still listed as delinquent $112,542 on six property tax accounts in four counties. See our updated Beyel Property page for more.

The environmental problems at several Beyel Brothers yards, repeatedly documented on this site and summarized on our Beyel Environmental Issues page, are now allegedly affecting Beyel's neighbors.

Environmental problems have been particularly acute at Beyel's West Palm Beach yard, at the intersection of West 15th Street and Old Dixie Highway in Riviera Beach. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has levied fines and ordered clean ups and remediation at this yard in recent years. But the latest threat of legal action comes from an adjacent landowner, Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), whose tracks run along the northern edge of Beyel's property:

According to a letter recently released by the DEP, the railroad alleges that "apparent groundwater contamination originates on the Beyel property and extends onto FEC's right of way. It also appears that Beyel has experienced substantial problems with waste management at its facility."

FEC refuses to "participate in the management or funding" of remediation efforts at the property, as had been suggested in previous reports that Beyel submitted to the DEP, and "continues to be concerned that Beyel's operations may be an ongoing potential source of contamination of FEC's right of way."

According to the letter, FEC's attorney at the Jacksonville, FL office of McGuire Woods was "in the process of analyzing the grounds for potential legal action by FEC against Beyel, including a potential citizen suit under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act." But the letter claims that FEC will forego legal action if Beyel "addresses both the conditions on Beyel's property that threaten releases to FEC's right of way and the contamination that has already migrated to FEC's right of way."

Another letter released by the Florida DEP, from American Environmental Associates of Melbourne, FL, indicates that the site assessment at the Palm Beach yard will be completed by April 7, 2012. American Environmental Associates is one of several firms Beyel has had to hire to assist with its remediation efforts.

See our Beyel Environmental Issues page for information on Beyel's properties in Merritt Island, Orlando, West Palm Beach, and two yards in Cocoa.

As reported in previous updates (see October 3, 2011 among others), Wells Fargo has pursued the former owners of General Crane personally for guaranteeing defaulted company loans, winning judgments against Steve and Jason Retterath and Jim Robertson. While Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath continue to fight the judgments in Broward County Circuit Court, Steve Retterath has appealed his $350,233 judgment to Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals.

As mentioned in yesterday's update, Jim Robertson's and Jason Retterath's Nevada crane company, Republic Tower, collapsed amidst a dispute among the owners and complications from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas bankruptcy. It appears that Robertson still has some designs on the Las Vegas market, as his new company, Allegiance Crane & Equipment, registered to do business in Nevada a few months ago. But he is off to a rocky start, as the company is already listed as being in "Default" status by the Nevada Secretary of State – it apparently failed to file some required forms.

Frost National Bank, holder of liens on virtually all of Lewis' assets, is trying to recover as much of its collateral as it can. Last month it filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to compel Wells Fargo to turn over a business checking account with a balance of $24,366.25 in the name of Lewis Crane of Nevada. In 2008, Lewis Crane of Nevada was merged into one of the Lewis entities filing for bankruptcy in the proceeding. According to the filing, Bankruptcy Trustee Scott Seidel previously attempted to gain control of the account but was resisted by Wells Fargo because Lewis Crane of Nevada was not a named debtor in the case.

However, in its reply, Wells Fargo states that it did not resist turning over the account. Instead it requested documentation of the merger establishing Seidel's legal right to it, and demands that Frost and/or Seidel establish this now to protect Lewis Crane. Wells Fargo also questions whether the bankruptcy court has jurisdiction over the issue since it amounts to garnishment.

Recent news regarding major construction projects that have been covered on this site:

As reported in the July 25 and July 27 updates below, a Nashville jury awarded Tower Investments $30.3 million for parcels that became part of the Music City Center, twice as much as the Nashville Metro government originally paid for the property. This verdict was affirmed by a Circuit Court judge, putting the project budget "at risk." According to the Tennessean newspaper, the "land acquisition budget remains busted, and the budget for the entire $585 million project will be left with a razor-thin contingency."

Like the Music City Center, the construction of the Florida Marlins baseball stadium was billed as a bond deal in the neighborhood of $600 million. But the Miami Herald reports that county taxpayers are actually on the hook for more than $2 billion over 40 years to pay back the principal and interest on the bonds, and now the US Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an investigation of the deal. We covered repeated safety and equipment problems involving General Crane during construction of the stadium.

The problems at Music City and the Marlins stadium are small potatoes compared to the disaster that is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. The failed $3 billion project has led to a major bankruptcy case, and litigation so complex that 23 attorneys appeared in a recent court proceeding. In the center of the fiasco is real estate tycoon Jeffrey Soffer, who was a partner – along with Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath, among others – in Nevada crane company Republic Tower, which itself dissolved in a mess of litigation. It appears that the feud between the partners of Republic has been settled, and the company's equipment is being dispersed among interested parties. Soffer, Republic and dozens of others are still defendants in fraud cases brought by a US Bankruptcy Trustee in Miami. A future update will tell the whole story of Republic's rise and fall in Las Vegas.

As reported in the August 4, 2011 update below, three of our featured companies – Beyel Brothers, CraneWorks and Zeiger Crane Rental – belong to what we call The Zero Club. These three companies contribute exactly zero dollars towards the retirement of the at least 300 workers they collectively employ.

According to the filing, there are 225 "Active Participants" in the Beyel plan, but only 75 of them – 33.3% of the company's workforce – have account balances in the plan (federal regulations define a plan participant as anyone eligible to participate, even if their retirement account balance is zero).

Further, despite increased investment gains in 2010, the annual income to the plan dropped nearly $50,000 from 2009 to 2010, due to Beyel's employer contribution sinking to exactly zero for the entire year. Beyel cut off contributions to the 401k plan in late 2009, a "temporary" benefit cut that has been in effect for over two years.

But the strongest indication of the negative effect on Beyel workers is the near doubling of the amount of loans employees have taken from their retirement accounts. Loan balances increased from $63,675 to $121,281 in 2010.

One interesting and unexplained item in the report is the large increase in the number of total participants – from 180 at the end of 2009 to 225 at the end of 2010. This presumably represents a rapid increase in the number of employees at Beyel, despite the company's cost saving measures in the last couple of years. Since 2009, in addition to cutting retirement benefits, Beyel cut pay 7% across the board, and gave up on its yard in Lakeland, FL, leasing the property to trucking company Marten Transport.

Here's a safety tip from CraneWatchdog.com by way of Ceco Concrete: While the photo below demonstrates a very creative way to recycle an empty Gatorade bottle, OSHA does not consider this effective prevention from protruding rebar hazards:

We discovered this photo while updating our profile of Ceco Concrete, which has new information on the company's OSHA investigations and federal lawsuits. In the OSHA investigation, Ceco was a sub to general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie in the construction of OCH Medical Center, a county hospital in Starkville, MS. Ceco was cited for the rebar violation and an uncovered hole violation, but was not fined, as the concrete company quickly abated both hazards. OSHA helpfully included a photo of the abated rebar impalement hazard:

Remember: recycle your empty Gatorade bottles, but don't use them as rebar caps.

See our full Ceco Concrete profile for more on the company's history, safety record, litigation and more.

Predators Subsidy Deal – In what a prominent Nashville political blogger calls "robbing Peter to pay Paul to pay Judas," The Tennessean newspaper has detailed a complicated financial arrangement in which Nashville/Davidson County taxpayers will pay an estimated $7.8 million this year to the NHL's Predators ownership group and its management company, plus additional debt service on bonds issued to construct the Bridgestone Arena. This subsidy – negotiated by Mayor Karl Dean to keep the hockey team in Nashville – was previously funded through a variety of tourism taxes. But those special tax revenues are now used to pay obligations under the $600 million Music City Center bond deal, and Nashville now pays the subsidy to the Predators out of the General Fund.

Real Estate Deal, Dickens Vote Questioned – A Nashville TV station reports that a former government real estate officer turned whistleblower claims that a politically connected non-profit "got a sweetheart deal at taxpayer expense" when it had to move its headquarters due to Music City Center construction. According to the story, teen center Rocketown got almost twice as much per square foot as other neighborhood properties. Further, the story alleges that Convention Center Authority chairman Marty Dickens did not recuse himself from voting for the Rocketown deal, even though his wife was on Rocketown's board of directors and was about to become chair at the time of the vote. Dickens issued two denials of any impropriety, first defending the appraisal and incentive deal, then defending his decision to vote on the matter.

Hearing Set on Certified Payroll Lawsuit – As reported November 15, 2011 below, IUOE Local 369 has filed a lawsuit over the redaction of certified payroll information by the Music City Center Authority. A Nashville judge has issued a "Show Cause Order," requiring the Authority to appear at a hearing on December 19, 2011, to "show cause" why the union's petition should not be granted. Further updates on the case will be posted on this site.

His crane company almost collapsed, and it is now practically wholly-owned by People's Bank and a few other creditors. Most of his cranes were repossessed, and he leases them back from his creditors, who have him on a strict monthly repayment plan. The mortgage for his office and crane yard was foreclosed, and he is now a renter. His workers are among the lowest paid in the industry, with no retirement plan and a miserable health plan.

So what does Steve Zeiger do as his bankruptcy case concludes? He takes out a $1 million mortgage for two yacht slips at the Jupiter Yacht Club and Marina, and uses Zeiger Crane Rental as the borrower.

As reported in our October 5, 2010 update, Zeiger borrowed $750,000 for the slips last year, just as his crane company was being pressured by Caterpillar and other creditors. With the recent recording of a Future Advance and Mortgage Modification Agreement in Palm Beach County, it appears that Zeiger never paid down the principal of this loan, but now the same lenders have extended an additional $250,000 in credit.

As with the previous transaction, this $1 million loan was issued through the law firm of Simses and Associates of Palm Beach, Florida, naming the Simses Defined Benefit Plan and Trust and three charitable trusts as the lenders. The loan documents were signed in mid-October, after the hearing on Zeiger Crane Rental's Plan of Reorganization, but before a written confirmation order was entered in the court record.

Litigation over a fatal accident during construction of the Palm House Hotel in West Palm Beach – which was never completed due to financing problems – continues nearly four years later, and has now led to a separate, federal court suit.

According to court filings, in February 2008 an employee of American Cutting and Drilling Company, Ricardo Meza, was cutting into a concrete wall section being held by a Beyel crane when the concrete slab he was standing on collapsed. Meza fell 17 feet into an excavation pit, and another concrete slab fell on top of him, crushing him to death. Meza's survivors sued American Cutting and Drilling, Beyel Brothers and several other parties over this accident.

Mark Beyel has filed an Affidavit in the case, claiming that Beyel was not at fault, and that OSHA did not cite Beyel for any safety violations. Beyel Brothers has moved for summary judgment, asking that it be dismissed from the case.

American Cutting and Drilling now faces another lawsuit, with its insurer Amerisure filing a complaint in US District Court in West Palm Beach. Amerisure alleges that American Cutting and Drilling was so negligent in the Meza accident that the insurer should be released from its obligations under the insurance policy. The defendant and the Miguel family have responded to the complaint (Beyel Brothers was dismissed from the federal suit, as were most other defendants).

Hunter v. Beyel Brothers - The husband and wife plaintiffs sued over an accident involving a hotel shuttle bus, which allegedly overturned after a collision involving a Beyel vehicle.

Green v. Beyel Brothers - A motorist sued after a Beyel crane backed into her car. The trial court jury found in favor of Beyel, but the trial court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a Directed Verdict. After losing an appeal, Beyel Brothers indicated it would ask for a new trial, and the case was kept open for years. But after no further filings by either party, the case has finally been closed.

Dozens of contract, jobsite safety and motor vehicle cases involving Beyel Brothers are available on our Beyel Litigation page. Several other cases will be updated, or added to this page, over the next few weeks.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has filed the final reports covering his recent reelection campaign, and our Dean Campaign Finance page has been updated. Dean's top 10 contributors remain unchanged, with Nashville law firm Bass Berry & Sims his top all-time donor (as a contributor itself and as the employer of contributors). Bass Berry & Sims acted as bond counsel for the $624 million public financing of the Music City Center.

Recent significant contributors to Dean include Auto Zone, Nashville real estate company Southeast Venture, and several country music industry figures. Three members of the Music City Convention Center Authority – Marty Dickens, Ken Levitan and Luke Simons – gave money to Karl Dean in the latter stages of the campaign. See our section on "The Boosters" for more on the collection of bankers and entertainment and tourism industry figures who make up the Authority, which is overseeing the largest public construction project in Tennessee history.

According to a story broadcast on Nashville local news, the Carpenters union is claiming that a drywall subcontractor is underpaying carpenters by several dollars per hour, not paying overtime, and not deducting taxes on weekend work. The charges are leveled against Florida based Jaime Obando Drywall, yet another Music City Center contractor headquartered outside of Tennessee. Obando is a sub to Roswell Drywall of Atlanta, which has been the subject of controversy before. Other subs to Roswell have allegedly hired "underground" workers (see July 19, 2011 update) and failed to pay employees on time (see October 25, 2011 update).

As reported in the September 22, 2011 update below, IUOE Local 369, which represents over 1,000 mid-Tennessee operating engineers, threatened to sue the Music City Center Authority over the redaction of worker addresses in certified payroll records. After discussions between attorneys for the Authority and the union led nowhere, today the local filed a lawsuit demanding full access to the payroll records.

In selling the $600 million convention center project to the citizens of Nashville, Mayor Karl Dean promised that the "vast majority" of workers on the project would be local, creating a stimulus package for the city. The Authority has claimed that as much as 61.8% of the workers on the project are local. But this figure cannot be independently verified without access to the workers' addresses, and even if true it is hardly a "vast majority."

Local 369's attorney is Debbie Godwin of the Tennessee firm Godwin Morris, who has already successfully argued a case which forced a Nashville government agency to release unredacted certified payrolls (see the September 22 update for more details).

Updated November 16, 2011: Nashville TV station WSMV broadcast a story on the lawsuit last night. See the video below:

The plaintiffs in the Ceco racial discrimination cases have responded to Ceco's motions to dismiss. Each claims that the mediation and arbitration policy he signed is not enforceable under Florida law.

Sims signed the policy while working for Craftsman Concrete Contractors, which was later purchased by Ceco. He alleges that the policy is not enforceable by Ceco because it was not a party to the original agreement and is not bound by Craftsman's agreement. Separately, he claims that that the agreement is unenforceable because it was subject to change by Craftsman at any time.

In the Moton and Manning cases the plaintiffs make similar arguments; however, they both signed an additional mediation and arbitration policy in an employee handbook while employed by Ceco. Further details on these cases are available in our profile of Ceco Concrete.

As reported in previous updates, a Beyel Brothers maritime employee filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he sustained injuries in separate incidents in May and July 2010 while working aboard a Beyel tugboat. He claims that Beyel "delayed, failed and/or refused to pay" for his medical expenses and prematurely required him to return to work following his injuries in May 2010, thus causing his further injuries in July 2010.

In a recent motion by the plaintiff, he provides further details on his claims, alleging that after being restricted to light duty, Beyel Brothers assigned him to work as the sole deckhand and engineer aboard the boat, meaning he was forced to complete heavy duty tasks. Beyel has fought back with a Counterclaim, alleging that the plaintiff failed to properly disclose preexisting conditions when he was hired.

Further details are available on our Keenan v. Beyel page. See our full Beyel profile for more on the company's Litigation and Safety histories.

Beyel customer MCM (Munilla Construction Management) was dealt a setback in its federal lawsuit against Walton Construction. As reported in the August 18, 2011 update below, MCM sued Walton over a proposed acquisition that fell through. But Walton has won an order dismissing the case and compelling arbitration of the dispute. See our full profile of MCM for more on this case.

As reported in an October 27th update, Lewis sought the court's approval of its settlement with ACE American Insurance. The court approved the settlement last week which releases both parties from obligations under the workers compensation insurance policy. The order authorizes the Lewis trustee to enter into the binder and to purchase the contractual liability policy to satisfy its current obligations.

Last week the court formally approved and confirmed Zeiger's reorganization plan, finding that the plan satisfied all necessary statutory requirements and that Zeiger and its representatives acted in good faith through the proceeding. By approving the plan the court overruled any outstanding objections to the plan, authorized Zeiger to implement the plan, and prevented those with claims against Zeiger not addressed in the plan from pursuing them in the future.

Prior to the plan's approval, Zeiger filed a motion to assume its contract with Castlepoint Insurance Company, the provider of its automobile liability insurance. The court scheduled a hearing on the issue on November 30th.

It was supposed to be a simple roof truss job, and invoices show that it took just ten hours (including travel time) to complete. But an April 2006 Hunter/Merchant job in Port St. Lucie, FL has spawned two lawsuits, one just ended and one just beginning (at the time the company was known as Hunter Crane, which has since been merged with Merchant Transport).

Robert Damiano, a carpenter working on a residential construction job, lost his left hand and part of his forearm when he was allegedly hit by a swinging truss, which pinned his arm against a cement block wall. Damiano sued Hunter Crane and the operator for $825,000 in 2009, and the case dragged on for over two years.

Hunter Crane eventually settled the case with Damiano, agreeing to pay him $100,000. But Hunter also countersued the general contractor, Cloutier Brothers, alleging that by signing its standard crane rental agreement, Cloutier indemnified Hunter Crane from any liability for injuries or property damages.

Hunter Crane and Cloutier Brothers settled the case earlier this year, with Cloutier agreeing to pay Hunter the $100,000 it had paid Damiano, plus attorney fees of $163,746. Cloutier also assigned its rights to pursue legal action against its insurance companies to Hunter Crane.

Now Hunter Crane is suing three insurance companies, including broker W.F. Roemer Agency, and carriers Mid-Continent Casualty and Florida Home Builders Insurance. Hunter alleges that the insurers have wrongfully denied coverage and failed to defend Cloutier in the Damiano litigation. Hunter Crane seeks unspecified damages and costs.

Further details are available on our Damiano v. Royal d/b/a Hunter page, which will be updated as this litigation progresses.

As repeatedly reported on this site, Beyel has experienced environmental problems at several Florida yards in recent years. Beyel has been forced to engage an outside attorney to deal with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and has hired several firms and professionals for its state-mandated testing and remediation efforts.

The Riviera Beach yard in Palm Beach County has had the most serious issues of all Beyel properties. Earlier this month Beyel submitted a comprehensive "Compliance Response," detailing numerous remediation efforts at the yard in response to state inspections earlier this year. But the day before Beyel submitted this report, the DEP issued a letter pointing out shortcomings in previous assessments and clean up efforts. The state has ordered Beyel to take action on eight items, mainly involving groundwater contamination by chlorinated solvents and spills of an acrylic resin product.

See our Beyel Environmental Issues for more on state and county enforcement activities at five Beyel properties.

As reported in the October 25, 2011 update below, the federal bankruptcy court in Fort Worth, Texas has been releasing transcripts of key hearings in the Lewis bankruptcy case. Released this week were the following transcripts:

July 26, 2011 hearing – this 259 page transcript covers several important issues involving disputes between Sierra Equipment, Frost National Bank and the bankruptcy trustee. One of the more intriguing aspects of the case – that of a $65,000 check that was allegedly lost, then cashed after its replacement was cashed – is covered in this hearing. The hearing dragged on for hours and at times got very emotional as the attorneys argued over equipment, leases, rent and more. At one point the attorney for Frost says of Sierra owner Kirk Lewis, "What it comes down to is his brother (Kyle Lewis) screwed him. I will testify with both hands raised on Kirk's behalf" (Page 171).

July 13, 2011 hearing – this 152 page transcript consists mainly of testimony on the distribution of Lewis assets among creditors. Early in the document, beginning on Page 11, a witness admits that it was often impossible to determine the ownership of equipment, which was sometimes distributed to creditors and other interested parties based simply on who was willing to pay to ship it. The testimony also focuses extensively on Kirk Lewis, who early in the proceedings allegedly tried to convince key parties that he "could help try to run the business…that he could resurrect the business despite the ongoing antics of his brother" (Page 6). But through most of the testimony Kirk Lewis is described as an impediment to progress in the case, as on Page 75 when Kirk's attorney allegedly explains his breaking an agreement as "That's just Kirk."

Despite receiving objections by Lewis creditors SL Financial Services Corp. and Frost National Bank, the court granted the trustee's motion to compromise the controversy with Kyle Lewis. Ultimately, the settlement was deemed reasonable and fair to all parties involved.

In other Lewis news, the trustee filed a motion detailing the terms of the settlement reached with ACE American Insurance, Lewis' workers compensation insurance provider. Early in the bankruptcy proceeding, ACE filed proof of 21 claims totaling $1,678,635, secured by a letter of credit issued by Frost National Bank. The settlement allows Lewis to eliminate its liability under the workers' compensation policies though the purchase of a contractual liability policy while releasing both Lewis and ACE from any future claims under the policy. Notably, Lewis would not pay the $549,929 insurance premium; instead, Frost National Bank will pay the premium in exchange for release of the letter of credit securing ACE's claims.

An expedited hearing was requested by the trustee to discuss the settlement, since the offer is contingent on the entry of a final order on it by November 21st. The court granted the motion and scheduled the hearing for November 1st.

Ceco Concrete Construction, at long last, has responded to the three federal cases alleging racial discrimination filed in July (See our July 26, 2011 update). The company submitted nearly identical motions to dismiss or stay the lawsuits pending arbitration in the Manning, Moton, and Sims dockets. According to Ceco, the employees signed an agreement agreeing to resolve any "covered claims" through mediation or arbitration rather than litigation as a condition of employment. These "covered claims" include any disputes involving racial discrimination. Ceco asks the court to either dismiss the cases or stay them pending arbitration since the plaintiff's allegations are based on racial discrimination.

As reported in our October 17 update, several drywall workers at the Music City Center did not receive pay due to them on Friday, October 14. A Nashville TV station reported that approximately 30 workers were finally paid on Tuesday, October 18. According to various media accounts, Roswell Drywall paid the workers, who were employees of Roswell's subcontractor LMC. Roswell Drywall has had other problems at the Music City Center, including allegedly hiring "underground" workers according to a hidden camera sting operation by Nashville's WSMV News (see the July 19, 2011 update below).

Until recently, transcripts of key hearings in the Lewis bankruptcy were only available to parties in the case. The federal bankruptcy court has finally made these transcripts publicly available, and they are presented here to download at no cost. The transcripts help shed some historical light on key moments in the long flameout of Lewis Equipment:

April 2010 Transcript – disputes with Sierra Equipment, owned by Kyle Lewis' brother Kirk, were resolved at this hearing. Also, a major part of the hearing involves compensation for professionals involved in the case, especially at key moments after Kyle Lewis was removed from running the company in favor of a trustee. There are frequent references to the difficulties the professionals encountered, such as "some of the personalities, as you are well aware in this case, are pretty unique (Page 8)," and "$14 million going to New Zealand…equipment that went to New Zealand and/or Australia, payments that went to (Kyle Lewis') parents…his house, to pay off credit cards (Page 13)." The professionals make reference to several allegations that had to be investigated, including those from anonymous tips.

December 2010 Transcript – after efforts to sell the crane company as a "going concern" fell through, this hearing was held to auction off Lewis' assets. But no bidders wanted the entire estate, which was down to just $6 million in assets. Several parties, including East Coast Hoist, Bigge Crane and Sierra, were interested in buying pieces of the estate.

More transcripts are expected to be released this week, and will be posted here.

It's a minor one, but the first lawsuit has been filed against Allegiance Crane & Equipment.

Earlier this year Progressive County Mutual Insurance Company filed suit against insurer McLarens Young International in Harris County, TX civil court, alleging that a motor vehicle accident involving a 2003 Ford Expedition and an Allegiance vehicle resulted in the Ford being totaled. Later this year the complaint was amended to add Allegiance as a defendant, and court indexes were just recently updated to reflect this new development.

The case involves an accident in Pasadena, TX, near Houston. The plaintiff seeks recovery of the vehicle's value ($11,385.82), costs and other unspecified damages.

As referenced in recent updates (see October 3 and 4 below), there is still plenty of litigation ongoing involving the former owners of General Crane, Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath. We will continue to provide updates on these cases, and this site will soon feature full profiles of Robertson's and Retterath's current companies, Allegiance and Hunter Merchant.

Zeiger creditor GE Capital Commercial filed suit in federal court last month against Exact Crane & Equipment concerning its purchase of a Link-Belt Crane from Zeiger Crane Rental in February. We first reported on the legal wrangling associated with the sale in May, detailing People's lawsuit against Wells Fargo, Exact Crane, and Cleveland Crane.

In September 2005, Citicapital loaned Zeiger the funds to purchase the Link-Belt HTC-8690. Zeiger granted Citicapital a first priority security interest in the crane and agreed not to sell or otherwise dispose of the crane without Citicapital's written consent. GE Capital now holds the loan as a result of a merger.

During the Zeiger bankruptcy proceeding GE Capital became aware of the sale of its collateral to Exact Crane without its consent, constituting default under the existing loan between Zeiger and GE Capital. When GE Capital demanded return of the crane it was informed that Exact sold the crane to an undisclosed third-party for $500,000 without notice to GE Capital and without satisfying GE's liens against the crane.

GE Capital now seeks a judgment against Exact for the value of the crane and any damages the crane sustained while in Exact's possession.

According to the story, workers at a drywall company, LMC, did not get paid Friday as scheduled. Music City Convention Center Authority staff were trying to "get to the bottom of this," and hoped that workers would be paid today.

The Tennessee Secretary of State shows that LMC Commercial Contracting's authority to do business in the state expired in 2006, the same year that owner Billy Lombardo filed for bankruptcy. Lombardo had previously filed for bankruptcy in 1993, and has a host of liens, judgments and lawsuits in his past. It is unknown whether Lombardo has incorporated another business in Tennessee, which may be operating under the name LMC.

Research by WSMV and CraneWatchdog.com has shown that the Convention Center Authority:

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean promised that the $600 million convention center would be "Nashville's stimulus package" and that the "vast majority" of workers on the project would be local hires. But with each new development, it becomes more apparent that the only standard on the project is to accept the lowest bid. As usual, you get what you pay for.

According to our monthly calculation of Beyel Brothers' total delinquent property taxes throughout the state of Florida, the balance has dropped dramatically since mid-September to $257,547.88, the lowest it has been in many months.

But there's a catch – some of Beyel's delinquent accounts have gotten so old, and/or been paid by third-party investors, so they have been essentially wiped off the books.

For example, Beyel was recently listed as being $48,501.62 delinquent on its 2009 property taxes in Palm Beach County. But this balance was paid by a third party, the cryptically named "2011 RA TLC LLC CAPITAL ONE BK CLTRL. ASSIGNEE." This entity now has the right to charge Beyel up to 18% interest on the account. Now that Palm Beach County has been paid, the debt is no longer considered a public record.

We have dropped this large delinquent balance from our calculations, and can verify that Beyel did make a payment of $8,780 on its delinquent Brevard County taxes in the past month, thus causing Beyel's balance to go down…technically.

Beyel remains delinquent on eight accounts in four Florida counties. See our updated Beyel Property page for more.

In light of recent personal litigation and judgments against the owners of Zeiger Crane Rental and the now-defunct General Crane, we have conducted a search for similar actions against Kyle Lewis, the former owner of Lewis Equipment and related companies. The results of this search can be summed up in one word: Ouch!

The $4.7 million dollar judgment against Kyle Lewis proposed in the settlement agreement with Lewis Equipment's bankruptcy trustee does not affect the individual judgments already won by several Lewis creditors, as indicated below:

Each of these cases was filed in US District Court in Dallas, and interest is accruing on each of the judgment amounts.

In 2010 American Bank of Texas won a judgment of nearly $5 million against Kyle Lewis in a Texas state court. This judgment was recorded in Walton County, Florida, where Kyle Lewis previously had a residence (this is the Miramar Beach area in the panhandle). According to a subsequent Walton County filing, the judgment was satisfied in June 2011.

All told, if the bankruptcy court approves the settlement agreement, Kyle Lewis will face $11 million in personal judgments.

As previously reported, Lewis has few assets remaining in the US. The settlement agreement requires him to immediately turn over the title to a 1998 Cigarette boat, and to pay $500,000 out of a liability insurance policy and $25,000 in cash.

The transcript from Zeiger Crane Rental's Plan of Reorganization hearing sheds further light on the crane company's plan to emerge from bankruptcy court protection, including the potential personal liability issues for owner Steve Zeiger.

During the Plan hearing, as explained in recent updates on this site, Zeiger and its creditors agreed to a plan that puts Zeiger on a strict monthly payment schedule. And Steve Zeiger must personally begin paying $2,500 monthly for five years ($150,000) to be distributed among unsecured creditors (representing only 37% of the $529,065 owed).

While the hearing was generally not confrontational, Wells Fargo did emphasize its right to pursue Steve Zeiger personally if the payment conditions are not met (see page 17). As reported in the September 28 update below, Steve Zeiger already personally faces a suit by Colonial Leasing for over $800,000 in loan guarantees.

At the end of the hearing (Pages 60-61), Zeiger's attorney tells the judge, "Your Honor, I cannot thank you enough. This has been the first Chapter 11 that I've appeared before you. You have been wonderful."

The judge replies with compliments to all of the many attorneys involved, and to Steve Zeiger himself, for all of their hard work on the case, concluding, "So good luck to all of you. Congratulations."

Forgotten during all of the backslapping by $400-$500 per hour lawyers was the hard work done by Zeiger Crane Rental workers, who are among the lowest paid – with the worst benefits – of any we have surveyed. And according to Zeiger's five year projections (see October 6 below), things won't be getting better for Zeiger workers anytime soon.

As reported September 30, Zeiger Crane Rental made several last minute filings on the eve of its Plan of Reorganization hearing last week. Among these filings were financial projections for the next five years. Our analysis of these projections shows that Zeiger will be on a strict creditor payment schedule for a long time – and that Zeiger's workers, already among the lowest paid in the Florida crane rental industry, should not expect any major improvements in wages and benefits anytime soon.

As a reorganized company, Zeiger will face extreme financial burdens in order to repay its former creditors. According to the amended cash flow projections, Zeiger will be making monthly payments of well over $100,000 for the next seven years to pay down its $14,349,131 debt. This includes a $3,365,272 mortgage from a "new lender" to redeem the company's headquarters from foreclosure.

Zeiger is expected to pay $1,569,438 to service its debt the first year, which is 22% of the company's projected total receipts of $7,081,157. Approximately two-thirds of its debt service payments go toward repaying People's United Bank.

Each year for the next four years Zeiger will make payments totaling $2,148,778, or approximately 25% of its projected total receipts of $8,485,207 for year two and $8,698,800 for years three through five. In financial documents filed earlier Zeiger claimed total receipts of $6,987,823 in 2010 and $7,703,869 in 2009, so the company is apparently expecting a sudden boom in business to meet its projected receipts in the coming years.

In short, Zeiger's position with People's and other creditors is almost that of a wholly-owned subsidiary – and one that will need to hustle to increase revenues. Falling behind on monthly payments would cause severe penalties – and would also allow creditors to pursue Steve Zeiger personally.

As for employees, as Zeiger tries to pay down its debt and increase its annual receipts, Zeiger workers can expect a 0% increase in wages between 2013 and 2016. The projections do show a small increase in wages over the next two years, but there is no indication of whether this reflects increased hiring, or pay raises for current workers.

In more immediate Zeiger financial news, the company has finally settled with its creditor TCF Equipment Finance. The order entered last week also puts financial pressure on both Zeiger Crane and Steve Zeiger personally.

Zeiger Crane must pay TCF $9,333 per month retroactive to July 1, 2011 with the payment of $18,666 due on September 21st for July 2011 and August 2011. Payments of $9,333 are then due October 12th and October 31st for September 2011 and October 2011. Regular monthly payments begin on November 1st and continue until the plan's effective date, when Zeiger may pay TCF according to the terms of the plan. After the order becomes final Steve Zeiger must accept service of a pending Minnesota court complaint based on his personal guaranty and execute a stipulation to judgment in TCF's favor in the amount of TCF's secured claim and TCF's unsecured claim, with 6% interest.

In our continuing effort to monitor the progress made on the promises made by the proponents of the Music City Center, we have updated the special report on Local Company Involvement. The update looks at the most recent procurement numbers presented to the Convention Center Authority. Overall, 82% of contract dollars have been awarded to non-Tennessee based companies through August, a slight improvement on April's numbers, due to the award of two additional procurement packages to Tennessee-based companies.

Music City Center contractor Ceco Concrete submitted an answer to allegations of age discrimination in a federal suit filed in Seattle, WA earlier this year (see our August 15, 2011 update). Unsurprisingly, it denied the plaintiff's claims and provided a number of defenses for its alleged actions. The company has yet to respond to three racial discrimination cases filed in federal court in July, with the answer deadlines passing on August 22nd and August 23rd.

As reported yesterday, General Crane creditors are pursuing Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath over personal loan guarantees signed before General's bankruptcy filing in December 2009. Mack Financial filed a federal lawsuit against Robertson and Retterath earlier this year, claiming that after collecting $75,000 in General's bankruptcy proceedings, it is still owed $85,451.42 (with 18% interest accruing).

The suit results from General's purchase of six Mack trucks in December 2008. Mack has submitted as evidence the signature pages from several loan documents, as shown in the example below:

More details, and several documents from the case, are available on our Mack Financial v. Robertson and Retterath case page. This page will be updated as new filings become available from the court.

$4.7 million judgments lately seem to be contagious among Southern companies that undercut area standards for crane operators. As we reported in the September 26, 2011 update below, Kyle Lewis was recently nailed with a $4.7 million judgment as part of a settlement of various issues in the Lewis Equipment bankruptcy. Now Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath, former co-owners of General Crane, have been hit with a judgment for nearly the same amount.

In late 2009 General faced several lawsuits by creditors over defaulted loans. Wells Fargo Equipment Finance piled on in November 2009, suing for just under $12 million, a development that turned out to be one of the last straws in pushing General into bankruptcy. The case was stayed as Wells Fargo pursued its claim in bankruptcy court.

After repossessing equipment and receiving proceeds from assets sales in General's bankruptcy, Wells Fargo was paid only around half of the $12 million it originally claimed it was owed. The lender then reopened the Wells Fargo v. Gulfstream, Retterath and Robertson case in an attempt to collect from Jim Robertson and Jason and Steve Retterath over personal loan guarantees.

As we reported July 15, 2011, Wells Fargo won a judgment for $350,233.23 against Steve Retterath, the original founder of General Crane and father of Jason (the elder Retterath has filed a notice of appeal). But this judgment pales in comparison to the eye-popping $4,790,415.33 judgment entered against Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath.

The multimillion dollar judgment against Kyle Lewis may be a paper tiger – Lewis has no major business interests, assets or residences (see "Kyle Lewis' House Foreclosed," April 27, 2011) in the US. But Robertson and Retterath are personally and professionally rooted in South Florida, and both are trying to grow other companies since General's demise.

Robertson and Retterath long ago parted ways, and it is no secret in the crane industry that animosity between the two goes deeper than just a business rivalry. But as Robertson tries to get Allegiance Crane off the ground, and Retterath returns to Hunter/Merchant, the two still find themselves entwined in legal disputes in Florida, Nevada and Texas. Further, the personal bad feelings did not get in the way of a Texas real estate deal between the two camps that proved lucrative for the Retteraths.

In the weeks and months ahead our site will change as we move into the "post-General Crane" era, to focus on Allegiance Crane and Hunter/Merchant in addition to Beyel, Zeiger, Ceco, CraneWorks and other companies to be added later. But over the next week, our updates will examine the mess still being cleaned up after the crash and burn of General Crane.

As previously reported in our September 16th update, Zeiger's confirmation hearing was postponed until this morning to continue negotiations with its People's. Yesterday Zeiger filed six documents with the court for consideration, including two modifications of its reorganization plan.

The amended modification to the reorganization plan enumerates what People's Allowed Secured Claim actually includes, miscellaneous collateral (excluding collateral securing the claims of other classes) and the Dyer Road real estate. They also make changes to Zeiger's payment plan with People's – increasing the amount of the first six payments to $81,395 and adjusting payments back to the original amount until the property is redeemed or sold. It also makes provisions for payment adjustment if People's is paid any proceeds from the sale of surrendered equipment in excess of the amount bid by People's in the June 7, 2011 public sale or the sale of any miscellaneous collateral or Dyer Road's real estate. In the initial modification submitted yesterday also provided for payment adjustment if People's received payment on account of the claim People's filed against Wells Fargo (see our May 10th update).

As Zeiger's chief restructuring officer, Mark Welch's declaration reviewing the plan was submitted to the court. Ultimately, he found the plan feasible since Zeiger has sufficient cash, or commitments for cash infusions by third parties, to satisfy the required distributions. There is a "reasonable probability" that the company will comply with its obligations under the plan and settlement with People's. In his estimation the plan is better than liquidation since creditors will receive at least, and likely more, than what they would under a Chapter 7 liquidation. He also states that FCC, Kelly, People's and other substantial unsecured creditors agreed to waive distributions from Zeiger's contribution to enhance the distributions to general unsecured creditors.

An affidavit was also filed by Steve Zeiger in which he addressed the settlements with Zeiger's creditors. He acknowledged that the settlements have the potential to affect him personally with parties having the ability to pursue judgments against him and to collect against him.

Other filings include a revised Exhibit C to the disclosure statement reflecting new cash flow projections and Zeiger's Certificate on Acceptance of its reorganization plan. Eleven ballots were filed on or before the court's deadline – Classes 2, 3, 4, and 9 voted to confirm with 100% acceptance while Classes 5 and 8 didn't vote. Two Class 9 ballots were filed after the deadline; however, they both voted to accept.

According to CraneWatchdog.com personnel who attended Zeiger's Plan of Reorganization confirmation hearing today, Zeiger's major creditors have agreed to the Plan, and the judge indicated that the Plan will be confirmed, but no written order has been issued yet. We will provide further details as they become available.

Environmental problems continue for Beyel Brothers, which in recent years has faced enforcement activities at five yards in Florida. As reported in the July 20, 2011 update below, inspections at Beyel's West Palm Beach yard found several "Areas of Concern" and "Potential Violations" including paint and oil spills.

Now the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued a Formal Warning Letter threatening Beyel with up to $48,542 in fines and costs. A Penalty Computation Worksheet attached to the letter lists 11 alleged violations, primarily concerning hazardous waste.

While some of the violations are administrative matters such as records and training, several concern regulations on hazardous waste including oil, paint and even an allegedly improperly discarded fluorescent light bulb (see photo below).

Beyel has faced previous enforcement activities at the West Palm yard, in addition to recent problems in Merritt Island, Orlando and its current and former headquarters in Cocoa. Beyel has already been fined approximately $40,000 in the past year, and has undertaken several state ordered remediation efforts.

A lawsuit was filed in Palm Beach County against Steve Zeiger, as an individual, by Colonial Pacific Leasing Corp. on a personal guaranty signed in connection with a loan entered into by Zeiger Crane. In September 2005, Citicapital Commercial Corp. financed Zeiger Crane's purchase of a Link-Belt 99 Ton Truck Crane HTC-8690 with a $809,961.60 loan to be repaid in 84 monthly installments of $9,642.40. Earlier this year GE Capital Commercial, created by a merger between Citicapital and Citicorp Leasing, Inc., assigned the loan to Colonial.

Zeiger Crane has allegedly failed to make payments on the loan since February 2011. The personal guaranty signed by Steve Zeiger obligates him to assume payment obligations in the event of Zeiger Crane's default; however, he has failed and refused to pay on Colonial's demand. Colonial now seeks a judgment against Steve Zeiger for damages, court costs, interest, and attorney's fees.

The former co-owners of General Crane also face lawsuits over personal loan guarantees. As reported in the July 15, 2011 update below, Steve Retterath was hit with a judgment of over $350,000 earlier this year (the judgment is being appealed). In the next few days, we will report on similar cases pending against Jason Retterath and Jim Robertson.

In Zeiger news, the court recently dismissed the adversary case upon approval of the settlement between Zeiger and Caterpillar in the main bankruptcy proceeding. The other original parties to the case, Ring Power and Peoples, received partial dismissals earlier this year after settlements were reached with Zeiger.

Earlier this week Zeiger filed its Monthly Operating Report for August 2011 showing a staggering $178,900 monthly loss, due to both a decrease in receipts and an increase in disbursements. Included in these disbursements was an $18,093 miscellaneous debit for "credit card – travel and deposit" and a $22,500 payment to Dyer Road Property, LLC for "travel and entertainment". And, as of August 31st, there were 8 outstanding checks totaling $100,000 written to Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP between July 15th and August 26th. Also of note, Steve Zeiger is now receiving a $3,799.54 car allowance in addition to his $5,000/week salary and $1,027.92/month in benefits.

Former General Crane customer Atlas Traffic Management Systems, now in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay in connection with a 2008 crane accident. Atlas hired General Crane to mount a road sign above the Florida Turnpike; however, the crane tilted backward resulting in damage to both the sign and truss due to the "stability failure" of the crane. The claim for $150,000 in damages was not paid by General Crane's liability insurance. Atlas now seeks to pursue its claim against the liability insurer and collect from General Crane only to the extent of any insurance proceeds received.

Lastly, the Clark County Tax Assessor filed a request for administrative expenses in the Lewis proceeding for unpaid personal property taxes. According to documentation submitted with the filing, Lewis owes $107,342.48 which was due March 29, 2011.

Yet another story on the Music City Center project was broadcast September 23, 2011 by top Nashville news anchor Demetria Kalodimos. According to an operating engineer who worked on the excavation of the Omni Hotel (the official convention center hotel, adjacent to the Music City Center), workers discovered a variety of artifacts during the dig. The worker claims that he was told to hide his findings, "because they didn't want the job shut down."

A Nashville ordinance requires that anyone "excavating on public property" needs to "preserve the site and any artifacts" and "immediately notify" the Nashville Metro Historical Commission. This did not happen on the Omni excavation, and there is some question whether the finds should have been investigated.

Omni bought the property from Tower Investments, a major donor to Mayor Karl Dean and the winner of a $14.8 million judgment against the city in a dispute over Music City Center land (see the July 25 and July 27 updates below). But Omni filed a quitclaim on the parcel, deeding it Nashville's Industrial Development Board as part of a property tax incentive deal.

The Nashville Metro Government denied that the ordinance applied in this case, as the job contract is between two private entities, Omni and general contractor Brasfield and Gorrie. Omni denies that any artifacts were found on the site, but says it is "investigating." But as the story points out, it is probably too late to determine the historical significance of the site.

Late last month Lewis' Trustee filed a Motion to Compromise Controversy to settle its adversary proceeding with Kyle Lewis. The parties agreed on the terms of a settlement, including:

The terms of the settlement brought on objections by both SL Financial Services and Frost National Bank. SL Financial Services filed proof of secured and unsecured claims in excess of $12 million and received most of its collateral back via surrender. However, a Yongmao crane it financed was shipped to Lewis Equipment Pty Limited, Kyle Lewis' Australian company, without permission. According to the liquidation plan approved by the court, the Trustee had exclusive right to prosecute for removal of the crane. The settlement would release any claims against Lewis' Australian company foreclosing any possibility that SL Financial would recover its collateral. In its filing, SL Financial also calls the $4.7 million judgment against Kyle Lewis deceptive since he claims to have only $100,000 in unencumbered assets in the U.S. and his Australian company is released from liability.

Frost National Bank also filed an objection to the Trustee's motion to the extent it adversely impacts its claims against equipment "concealed, stolen, or otherwise transferred" by Lewis to other Lewis-controlled entities.

As reported on this site July 8, 2011 and in subsequent updates, the Music City Center Authority withheld worker addresses when it released certified payrolls to the IUOE and other local union requesters. By redacting the addresses, the Authority made it impossible for the public to know whether the $600 million project was meeting Nashville Mayor Karl Dean's promise that the "vast majority" of workers on the project would be local workers. The issue of local hiring and certified payrolls was featured in a recent story on Nashville's WSMV Channel 4 titled "Who's Working on the Music City Center?"

Now IUOE Local 369, which represents over 1,000 mid-Tennessee operating engineers, has threatened to sue over the redaction of worker addresses. According to a letter delivered today to Authority attorney Charles Robert Bone, IUOE Local 369 will sue if the Authority does not produce unredacted certified payroll records within 14 days. Further, the union demands that the Authority refund all fees charged for time spent redacting the payrolls.

The letter is written by attorney Debbie Godwin of the Tennessee firm Godwin Morris. Ms. Godwin successfully argued the case Archer Terry Lee and Kem Clark v. Metropolitan Development and Housing Authority (MDHA) in the late 90s. This case covered a situation nearly identical to the Music City Center payroll dispute:

In the MDHA case, the court ruled that the union was entitled to the "complete payroll records as requested," i.e. including addresses. The court also ordered the government agency to pay the union's attorney fees (the judge's opinion is attached to the letter to the Authority).

Last week, the Lewis trustee filed notice with the court of the liquidation plan's effective date on September 13th and other upcoming deadlines, including:

Later in the week the trustee filed 22 adversary cases seeking to recoup over $1.3 million in payments made to creditors both before and after Lewis' bankruptcy petition was filed on September 18, 2009. Lewis is seeking to recoup payment on checks it wrote more than three months before filing for bankruptcy and more than a month afterward. Below is a listing of the affected creditors as well as the amount of the refund sought.

Hours prior to this week's hearing on the TCF Motion to Enforce, Zeiger Crane Rental filed a motion to postpone its confirmation hearing originally scheduled for today. The company attributes the delay to further discussions with Peoples about modification of the amended reorganization plan relating to Peoples' claim and its treatment under the plan. Zeiger needs more time to seek approval of the modifications. The court granted Zeiger's motion, rescheduling the hearing for September 30, 2011.

In the TCF matter, Zeiger and its creditor settled a dispute over when the company would begin making monthly payments on its debts, although no formal court order has been entered. See the September 14 update for more details on this dispute. Zeiger and creditor Ford Motor Credit Co. have come to an agreement regarding the payments on the two Ford F250s, Ford F550, and Ford F150 in Zeiger's possession. In July, Ford filed a motion to lift the automatic stay so it could repossess and sell the trucks after Zeiger failed to make its payments. The agreement reached by the two parties provides two repayment options – Zeiger can either resume making regular payments in October and pay half the arrearages in October and half in November or make adequate protection payments until the reorganization plan is confirmed with arrearage payments due on the effective date and 30 days thereafter.

If Zeiger fails to make payments according to these timelines, Ford may file an affidavit of default and seek an order seeking stay relief to repossess and sell the trucks.

Despite a payment of $8,780 on its delinquent taxes in its home county of Brevard, Beyel Brothers' total delinquent property tax amount has increased in the past month to $313,896.98. As fees and interest on Beyel's many delinquent accounts continue to accrue, Beyel will have to make much larger payments for this total to decrease.

As of today, Beyel is delinquent on eight property tax accounts in four Florida counties. These accounts cover both real estate and tangible property accounts (which include vehicles and equipment). See our Beyel Property page for more details.

The delinquent amount only includes Beyel crane yards. The brothers have other real estate interests, primarily in Brevard County, which are also delinquent (see September 12 update below).

As previously reported on CraneWatchdog.com, Zeiger creditor TCF filed a motion to enforce the terms of its settlement agreed to at the August 8th hearing. TCF holds a security interest in a 2009 Manitowoc 999 Crane being used on an Indiana jobsite through December 2011, providing Zeiger with approximately $26,000 in monthly revenue.

Sources in Indiana report that the crane, leased by Zeiger to Whitehawk Equipment, is in turn rented to Imperial Cranes, a related company based near Chicago. The crane in question is being used at the BP Refinery in Whiting, IN on BP's massive Whiting Refinery Modernization Project. This is a nearly $4 billion project, the largest private investment in Indiana history.

The August 8th settlement entitled TCF to an allowed secured claim of $1.6 million as well as monthly adequate protection payments of $9,333 and a Class 9 deficiency claim of $100,000. In turn, TCF would support the reorganization plan's confirmation. As part of the settlement TCF stated there would be "no release at this time on the personal guaranty, nor waiver of any deficiency claim." The parties were to draw up an order outlining the settlement's terms for the court.

In post-hearing discussions the parties disagreed regarding the release of the personal guaranty against Steve Zeiger. In its filing, Zeiger asks the court not to enforce the terms of the settlement arguing that the parties were mutually mistaken as to the terms. Zeiger claims it believed that TCF would only have the ability to pursue Steve Zeiger for the $100,000 deficiency claim. On the other hand, TCF believed it could immediately pursue him for the entire $1.7 million owed.

A hearing is scheduled this afternoon to discuss this issue as well as confirmation of the reorganization plan. Zeiger has submitted two motions to extend the time it has to file confirmation plan documents and objections to creditor claims with the court, citing the time-consuming preparations for this hearing. We will report on the outcome of this hearing later this week.

The Tennessean, the most prominent newspaper in the state of Tennessee, has made the shocking discovery that 85% of the contract dollars awarded on the Music City Center project have gone to companies headquartered outside of the state.

Thinking that this 85% figure sounded familiar, we did some research and discovered that we first reported this exactly two months ago (see June 13, 2011 Update, and our report on local company involvement). We'd like to congratulate the Tennessean for catching up.

The Tennessean strongly endorsed the construction of the Music City Center, and even crossed the line into advocacy by donating $15,000 to the Music City Center Coalition, a group of business interests cheerleading for the project. The paper also strongly endorsed Mayor Karl Dean for reelection, referring to "his vision for Nashville's future prosperity, from an economy lifted by the convention center now rising — a building that will elevate and help to grow downtown." No mention was made of Dean's broken promise that a "vast majority" of workers on the project would be local residents.

Over the next few weeks our Ceco/Music City section will be updated with new information on certified payrolls, minority business participation, local hiring, federal discrimination lawsuits against Ceco and Dean's campaign finance reports.

As it prepares for its confirmation hearing on September 16, Zeiger Crane Rental has submitted a number of motions to assume unexpired leases and executory contracts. It seeks to assume two unexpired leases in which it is the lessor, leasing a 999 Manitowoc Crane to Whitehawk Equipment LLC and commercial property to Airgas South, Inc. The leased crane is being used in an ongoing project in Indiana which provides Zeiger with monthly revenue in excess of $25,000. Airgas is a tenant at Zeiger's West Palm Beach headquarters property (See the January 24, 2011 update "Zeiger Downsizes Yard)."

The remainder of the unexpired leases and executory contracts relate to administrative and personnel matters, like insurance and office equipment. Our Zeiger Bankruptcy page has been updated with new filings, and we will report on the confirmation hearing and other court proceedings this week.

Loose ends continue to be tied up in the Lewis Equipment bankruptcy, as the adversary case against Louisiana contractor Pete Vicari was closed on September 8. As previously reported, the Lewis trustee filed the case in May. The complaint claimed that Vicari owed Lewis $45,600 for a mobile crane, crane operator, and related services for the construction of an elementary school. A proposed settlement was reached in July, with Vicari paying a total of $36,000. As agreed to in the settlement, Lewis filed a motion to dismiss the adversary case with prejudice, which was granted by the court.

As documented repeatedly on this site, Beyel Brothers has a long history of failing to pay its property taxes on time. Our running tally of Beyel's delinquent taxes is updated monthly, and currently stands at $300,856.39 (this figure will be updated in the next few days).

But this amount would be much higher if we included all properties owned by the Beyels – we track only Beyel's crane yards. The Beyels own several parcels in Brevard County that appear to be investment properties, and these are often delinquent as well. The county has issued a Tax Deed Application against one such parcel, ordering that $32,301.10 be paid by September 28, 2011, or the parcel will be auctioned off the next day.

Most of these investment properties list only Mark Beyel as the owner, while some list two or more of the Beyels, so it is not always clear whether Mark Beyel is acting as sole owner or on behalf of his brothers. The parcel subject to auction is outlined in red below. Beyel's headquarters in Cocoa is just east of the parcel, outside the area shown in the photo:

For some time we have been hearing rumors of a possible acquisition of Lakeland Crane, a small central Florida company, by Hunter/Merchant, the companies owned by former General Crane co-owners Jason and Steve Retterath. A corporate registration with the Florida Secretary of State appears to give some credence to these rumors.

According to the filing, an entity called "PBT Lakeland LCC" was registered last month in Florida, and its street address is 1360 NW 33rd Street in Pompano Beach. This is General's old headquarters, where Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport are consolidating their operations. Neither Retterath is listed on the incorporation papers, but Hunter/Merchant's manager Barry Assad, a long-time Retterath employee, is named in the filing.

We presume that "PBT" stands for Palm Beach Trucking, Merchant's legal name (the Retterath companies are officially Palm Beach Trucking d/b/a Merchant Transport and Royal Crane d/b/a Hunter Crane. Although they are legally separate companies, they frequently operate under the combined name Hunter/Merchant).

Whether this new incorporation is the first step in the acquisition of Lakeland Crane, or merely a step in establishing a presence in the Lakeland, FL area is unclear. Lakeland, FL is located about halfway between Orlando and Tampa along I-4. Several crane companies have yards in the area, giving them convenient access to both central Florida and the Gulf Coast.

As noted in our July 25, 2011 update, Miami news station WSVN reported that on July 11 a worker fell four stories while working at an MCM jobsite. According to the WSVN report, the worker sustained critical injuries, but at the time no further details were available.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has finally disclosed the unfortunate news that the worker died in the fall. According to OSHA's newly released Fatality/Catastrophe Report, the fallen worker was employed by Solar Erectors U.S. Inc. The worker was leaning against a cable on the structure and it snapped, allowing him to fall about 40 feet.

With locations in Ontario, Canada and Miami, Florida, Solar Erectors' website states they specialize in the installation of precast concrete products. The website reports that they have completed a "vast number" of parking garages, offices and retail structure jobs. According to MCM's website, the Miami parking garage where the accident occurred is owned by the Miami-Dade County government.

Since 2004, OSHA has conducted three inspections of Solar Erectors U.S. Inc and found 10 serious violations. We have submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for the complete OSHA file related to the July 11 tragedy, and will report additional details as they become available.

MCM, the Miami-based contractor owned by the Munilla family, is a frequent customer of Beyel Brothers and other crane companies that undercut area standards for crane operators. MCM is currently involved in a federal lawsuit after an acquisition that would have made it "one of the leading contractors in the United States" fell through (see August 18, 2011 update). A comprehensive update of our MCM profile will be posted on this site soon.

According to the US Department of Labor, Labor Day is "a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."

Labor Day is not a day for the Steve Zeigers of the world to enjoy some extra time at the Jupiter Yacht Club and Marina. It is not a day for the David Uptons to zip down to Gulf Shores in their private planes. Nor is it a day for the Emily Heisley-Stoeckels to do whatever fabulous thing it is that the obscenely wealthy do on long weekends.

We also honor all of the crane industry employees in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and other states who have participated in our survey. Because so many workers fear retaliation, the best information we have learned will never appear on this site. But the information they provide has been a tremendous help in our campaign against companies that undercut area standards. That campaign will continue, and it will expand.

On August 24th General Crane submitted its December 2010 Monthly Operating Report, the month its Plan of Liquidation was confirmed. The report shows payments totaling $16,073,002 made by Prophet Equity for closing expenses, comprised of $1,764,052.36 for administrative expense reserve and $14,308,949.64 in direct funding used to pay General Crane creditors Bank Midwest, DCFS, Mack, SL Financial, and Wells Fargo.

After satisfying its monthly obligations, the company was left with $55,809 at the end of December.

The Lewis bankruptcy proceeding is drawing to a close with the court's release of its order confirming the company's Liquidation Plan, as reported in our August 11th update. Also filed was the court's Post-Confirmation Order setting a schedule for the proceeding's final actions (unless otherwise provided for in the Plan):

However, not all of the post-hearing news is positive. It appears that Zeiger representatives are trying to back-pedal on the settlement with TCF it agreed to during the hearing. According to TCF's filing, while writing up the agreed order for the court Zeiger is trying to change the agreed-to terms regarding the release of the personal guaranty against Steve Zeiger and the due date of adequate protection payments. TCF seeks enforcement of the terms of the settlement agreed to during the August 8th hearing.

Zeiger also released its July Monthly Operating Report showing a rebound from June's $17,699 loss. The company ended July with a $61,551 monthly gain due, in part, to over a $50,000 decrease in "other operating expenses."

Twenty months after Mayor Karl Dean promised that the "vast majority" of workers on the $600 million Music City Center project would be Nashville area residents, and eighteen months after the project broke ground, local hiring is suddenly a priority for the Music City Center Authority.

According to a recent press release issued by the Authority (which is misspelled "Authrority" in the headline), a new "workforce administrator" has been hired to increase local hiring on the project. Nashville TV station WSMV is reporting that the Authority has received a $100,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Labor to fund this position, plus two more, to focus on local workforce development.

After months and months of denials that the Music City Center was not reaching its local hiring goals (see the section "The Reality" on this page), we are pleased to see the Authority seeking help on local hiring. Admitting you have a problem is always the first step in solving it.

This new focus on local hiring comes just one month after the airing of several critical stories on WSMV, including "Who's Working on the Music City Center," which features interviews with IUOE Local 369 and CraneWatchdog.com personnel.

"Together, we would be one of the leading contractors in the United States!"

So said a May 2010 letter from Pedro Munilla of Munilla Construction Management (MCM) to Walton Construction, a Kansas City-based general contractor active throughout the South and Mid-West. But instead of combining forces, MCM and Walton are currently battling in federal court.

Miami-based MCM routinely hires Beyel Brothers and other crane rental companies that undercut area standards for wages and benefits. While updating our profile of MCM, we found the lawsuit MCM v. Walton Construction in Miami federal court. The case provides an insider look at the corporate acquisition process, which is normally shrouded in secrecy.

According to a complaint filed by MCM, the two companies "entered into an agreement to explore the purchase of" Walton by MCM. MCM claims it spent "well in excess of $2 million conducting due diligence," and that Walton agreed to an "Exclusivity Period," during which Walton would notify MCM of any inquiries made by other possible buyers.

In September 2010, Walton was acquired – not by MCM, but by CORE Construction, a contractor based in Phoenix. MCM argues that the CORE transaction took place very soon after MCM and Walton were "on the verge of finalizing an agreement," and that Walton must have violated the exclusivity agreement by negotiating with CORE without notifying MCM.

A 15 page "Letter of Intent" attached to the complaint (beginning on page 12 of 28 in the PDF file) provides an interesting inside look at the doomed acquisition process. According to Pedro Munilla's letter, after the discussions with Walton began MCM's "senior management team…put aside nearly all other matters to fully devote its time and attention to Walton," and MCM demonstrated its "100% commitment to consummate a transaction" that would lead to "a highly complementary and synergistic union" of the two companies. In the letter, MCM claims its net worth was over $38 million, with $31 million in cash and cash equivalents.

The suit was originally filed in state court, and was quickly transferred to federal court in Miami. Walton has moved for dismissal in the case, arguing that according to the Letter of Intent, the dispute should be settled in arbitration.

Filings from the case are available on our MCM page, which is in the process of being comprehensively updated. More information on MCM lawsuits, safety and other matters will be posted soon.

In an August 8th hearing the court approved Zeiger's Amended Disclosure Statement. Cranewatchdog was able to obtain a copy of the hearing transcript which provides more detail than what was made available in the documents filed with the court.

Zeiger's attorney delved further into Steve Zeiger's financial dealings with his company and the proposed settlement of claims stemming from them. In the years prior to the bankruptcy filing, Steve Zeiger's "house payments were made, or a boat payment was made or something like that, or an alimony payment was made like in lieu of salary." In return for his personal use of company funds, Steve Zeiger put his own money back into the company. It is estimated that Steve Zeiger took $2.5 million from the company and contributed $4.5 million to it, and submitted the difference as a creditor claim. Under the proposed settlement, third parties who received payments from Zeiger Crane on behalf of Steve Zeiger are released from liability.

Following this hearing the company submitted a motion to shorten the amount of time to serve the order approving the disclosure statement and extend the time to file objections to the plan, which was approved. Zeiger's motion sought to shorten the deadline to serve the order to August 12th and extend the time to file objections to September 14th, providing creditors with 33 days notice, more time than the 28 days required by federal law but less than the 40 days required by local law.

The plaintiff, age 59, claims he worked for Ceco for 23 years, most of them as a project superintendant. According to the complaint, the superintendent was first laid off in December 2009, and was told that other workers who were not laid off were the "younger, new face of Ceco." The plaintiff also alleges that a Ceco regional manager made a remark about needing a "bucket of Ben-Gay" because of the "old guys on the job."

The plaintiff further alleges he was called back to work in May 2010, but then laid off again the following month, while his crew members under 40 were transferred to other jobs. The complaint refers to several other older workers who were laid off, alleging that Ceco has "systematically terminated the employment of workers over age 50 and replaced them with workers in their 20s and 30s."

Ceco has not yet filed a response in this case, titled Black v. Ceco Concrete. Ceco is due to answer the complaints in the Florida race discrimination cases next week.

Beyel Brothers' total delinquent property taxes across the state of Florida are now at $300,856.39. This is the second month in a row that Beyel's total tax delinquency has gone down (see July 12 update).

Since the July 12 update, Beyel has made just one property tax payment of $8,780 on one of its Brevard County parcels. Normally the company's total delinquent bill would rise with such a small payment, as up to 18% interest is being charged on each delinquent account.

But with the completion of tax certificate auctions throughout Florida, most of Beyel's delinquent accounts are now owed to private investors, not to county tax collectors. Therefore the actual amounts due, showing the accruing interest, are not available in public records – they are now considered private transactions between Beyel and these third party investors.

As an example, take a look at the payment history for Beyel's West Palm Beach yard:

Seven of the tax payments made since 1999 were paid by third parties, not Beyel Brothers. The past due accounts then move "off the books," and are considered private records.

With third parties owning 7 of Beyel's 12 past due accounts, and interest accruing at up to 18%, the amount Beyel owes is likely much higher than $300K.

See our Beyel Property Page for more on Beyel's long history of property tax delinquency.

The Lewis Crane bankruptcy liquidation plan was confirmed in a hearing on August 9th. Prior to its confirmation, the Trustee submitted modifications to the plan in filings dated August 4th and August 8th, the latter providing additional details on the liquidating trust established for the benefit of unsecured creditors.

In the days leading up to the confirmation hearing a number of creditors made last-minute filings in the proceeding. Both Caterpillar and Key Equipment Finance filed notices electing to accept Lewis' settlement offer. Two objections to the plan were filed by the State of Nevada and Dallas County and Harris County, jointly, objecting to the treatment of their tax claims.

Lastly motions were filed by Lewis for approval of agreements allowing the unsecured claims of American Bank of Texas and Zions Credit Corporation, both stemming from two 2008 loan agreements, for a total of $3,061,450.22.

Yesterday a hearing was held on a number of matters in the Zeiger bankruptcy proceeding, including the disclosure statement and the proposed settlement with Caterpillar.

Earlier in the day Zeiger filed revised versions of both its disclosure statement and its reorganization plan making a number of important changes to the originals. Notably, Peoples' secured claim was decreased to $8.8 million, $7 million less than the original claim. It also disclosed that Steve Zeiger will receive an annual salary of $250,000, which may be adjusted based on the company's operating results, and a monthly $1,000 allowance for a vehicle and medical insurance.

In an unexpected turn of events the documents revealed that in the two years preceding the bankruptcy petition Steve Zeiger received $2,925,657 in payments from Zeiger Crane. He allegedly did not take a salary during those two years. Assuming a "reasonable" salary of $290,000 annually, Zeiger Crane's net payments to Steve Zeiger and his family members was $2,345,657. However, Steve Zeiger also claims to have advanced his company a total of $4,465,000 during the same period and, on May 19th, filed a creditor claim for $2,058,800 for these advances. Even still, Steve Zeiger received $286,857 more from his company than he paid into it.

The documents propose a trade – Steve Zeiger will subordinate his creditor claim if the bankruptcy estate does not attempt to reclaim the money Steve Zeiger received from Zeiger Crane. As part of the deal, Steve Zeiger would make payments of $2,500 each month for 5 years to be distributed amongst the Class 9 Allowed Unsecured Claims that he is not also personally liable for. These payments, totaling $150,000, represent approximately 37% of the total owed ($529,065) to the creditors.

If Zeiger asserted his claim, these creditors would end up with either $147,129 or $187,219, not accounting for legal fees or any unanticipated costs. This looks like a rather good deal for Steven Zeiger, who would avoid repaying money received from Zeiger Crane while only paying out $150,000 over 5 years.

In a May 31st update, we reported that the People'v. Zeiger lawsuit had been settled and dismissed. The judgment was entered against Steve Zeiger, the B-Z Erection Company, and Zeiger Investment, Inc. by the federal district court in Houston on June 27th, including:

The judgment was registered in the district court in Miami on July 29th, making it enforceable against Steve Zeiger in Florida as well as Texas.

Zeiger is opposing Ford Motor Credit's recent motion for relief from the automatic stay filed on July 20th. The company argues there is no cause for relief, and even if there were relief would cause harm to Zeiger by removing vehicles from its business operations. Since Zeiger uses Ford's pick-up trucks in its day-to-day business, they are absolutely necessary to effectively reorganize the company.

Last week, Zeiger filed its June Monthly Operating Report showing a monthly loss for the first time since February. Despite having its highest monthly revenue since it started filing reports, with total receipts of $665,597, the company reported a loss of close to $18,000. However, this loss did not stop Steve Zeiger from giving himself a $5,000 raise this month.

Over 1/3 of its $683,296 in disbursements went toward rent ($126,831) and "other operating expenses" ($132,500). An itemized list of the "other operating expenses" reveals payments of $32,968.69 to American Express for "travel & hotel expenses", a total of $21,644.79 for "travel expenses", and $63,893.89 to Palmdale Oil Company for "fuel and oil." The filing also reflects its first $65,000 "adequate protection" payment to People's.

Zeiger also filed its response to the Trustee's objections to its disclosure statement. As reported by Cranewatchdog last month, the Trustee urged the court to reject Zeiger's plan and disclosure statement for lack of sufficient information. In its reply, Zeiger addressed each objection separately, pledging to amend its disclosure statement when warranted and asking the court to overrule unresolved objections improperly brought by the Trustee.

A hearing on Zeiger's Disclosure Statement is scheduled for this afternoon. CraneWatchdog.com personnel will attend the hearing, and we will report on any developments.

Industry sources in South Florida have alerted us to problems with a 500-ton Beyel Brothers crane, a Demag AC 1300, that is currently sidelined at Beyel's West Palm Beach yard.

According to workers at Port Everglades, about five weeks ago the Beyel crane suffered a bent cylinder during a lift. The cylinder was replaced or repaired and was quickly back at work – until around one week ago, when it happened again.

Shortly after a tandem pick of a vessel by the Beyel crane and another 500-ton crane, the cylinder on Beyel's Demag bent, as shown in the photo to the right taken by camera phone seconds after the incident (notice the buckled cylinder on the right):

This time, the crane has not been so quick to return to the jobsite. The 500-ton has been idled for at least a week.

CraneWatchdog.com personnel visited Beyel's West Palm yard yesterday and spotted the damaged rig. See the photos below:

As the photos show, the damaged cylinder on the right is clearly newer than the cylinder on the left. But again, this new cylinder was the replacement for the cylinder that was damaged previously.

Employer sponsored retirement and health plans file an annual tax return, known as IRS Form 5500. Due to long processing times by both the IRS and the US Department of Labor, annual returns for 2010 are just now becoming available.

The newly released 2010 CraneWorks 401k Plan annual report shows that the Alabama crane rental company has officially joined Beyel Brothers and Zeiger Crane Rental in what we like to call The Zero Club – companies that contribute exactly zero dollars towards their workers' retirement.

Zeiger is clearly king of The Zero Club – after years of contributing zero dollars to its 401k plan, Zeiger terminated the plan in 2010 (see January 28 update below).

Now CraneWorks has filed its 5500, showing a $0 annual contribution to its 84 plan participants. The return also shows that CraneWorks employees take out a lot of loans from the 401k plan. The current participant loan balance is $107,149, a 17% increase over the previous year. See our CraneWorks For Workers section for more details.

General Crane terminated its plan in 2010, reporting to the IRS that the plan's $2 million in assets have been distributed to participants, primarily via rollovers to other plans. These presumably would mainly be the plans sponsored by Allegiance Crane and Hunter/Merchant, where most General Crane employees ended up.

Allegiance has not yet made any 5500 filings. The 2010 Hunter/Merchant 401k return will be analyzed in a future update (Hunter/Merchant is not in The Zero Club. The company does contribute to its employees' retirement – though not much).

Dean Campaign Finances Updated; Mayor Urged to Return Contribution to Disgraced Donor

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, who broke his promise that the "vast majority" of workers on the $600 million Music City Center would be local hires, has been requested by mid-Tennessee IUOE Local 369 to return a contribution to Davidson County Clerk John Arriola.

In a letter hand delivered to Dean campaign headquarters today, IUOE Local 369 urged the Mayor to return a $250 contribution from Arriola – or "better yet," according to the letter, "donate this $250 to a worthy cause."

Karl Dean has requested an audit of Arriola's office, the Metro Government terminated the County Clerk's purchasing power and canceled the credit cards of Arriola and his staff, and prominent Nashville leaders have called for Arriola to resign.

Dean's campaign website lists Arriola as a supporter. According to Local 369's letter, although Dean cannot force Arriola to rescind his endorsement, he can do the right thing and return his contribution.

Dean's latest campaign finance report shows other interesting contributions. Major donors for April-June 2011 include the following:

Our Dean Campaign Finance page has been updated with this new information. A database of the 3,774 donations given to Karl Dean since late 2006 is available for download.

On June 23rd the Brevard County Tax Collector, Lisa Cullen, filed a tax warrant lawsuit against hundreds of taxpayers, including Beyel Brothers, Inc. Earlier this month a court order was issued allowing the Tax Collector to "levy upon, seize, and sell so much of the personal property of each taxpayer to satisfy the delinquent personal property taxes" owed, including Beyel's tangible property account.

Even with a payment of $8,780 payment made on July 22nd Beyel still owes Brevard County a total of $85,293.91 in delinquent taxes. See the July 12 update below, and our Beyel Property section for more on the company's history of tax delinquency.

Lewis Crane's trustee, Scott Seidel, filed his 9th Notice of Interim Fees and Expenses on July 25th. For the period from April 15th to July 22nd, he claims $25,654.99 in fees (64.06 hours at $400/hour) and $398.90 in expenses for travel, parking, and copies. In the filing, the trustee says that he intends to pay 80% of his fees (or $20,523.99) and 100% of his expenses on the 8th day after the filing, barring any objections, from the debtors' funds.

According to the Trustee's itemized invoice, a majority of the $25,654.99 fees are the result of continuing conflict with Kyle and Kirk Lewis. Included are frequent references to settlement negotiations with both parties, "Kyle refusal to turn over financial's (sic)," "Kyle refusal to abide by settlement issues," and similar entries indicating that conflicts with the Lewis brothers are costing the estate a lot of money.

Also in the Lewis case, creditor Grand Bank recently filed an administrative expense claim for real property ad valorem taxes paid on Lewis' behalf. Grand Bank held a first lien on two properties in Grand Prairie, Texas owned by Hardrock Road Properties and secured by promissory notes totaling $1,721,000 payable to the bank. The court lifted the automatic stay with regard to the properties in December 2010 allowing the bank to foreclose on and sell them. However, prior to the court's order, Grand Bank paid the 2009 and 2010 property taxes on the properties totaling $48.269.01. Grand Bank seeks reimbursement for these payments.

In the last days of his first campaign for the Nashville Mayor's office, Karl Dean received $10,000 from Tower Investments executives and their family members. One executive followed up with a $500 contribution two years later. See the chart below (some fields were blank in Dean's campaign finance reports, but we have verified that all individuals named below are linked to Tower):

Tower Contributions to Karl Dean
Last	First	City	ST	Occupation	Employer	Date	Amount
Marks	Alex	Franklin	TN	Developer/Property Manager	Tower Investments	7/27/2007	500.00
Marks	David	Sacramento	CA	Investor	Tower Investments	7/27/2007	500.00
Pierce	John	Rocklin	CA	Developer/Property Manager	Tower Investments	7/27/2007	500.00
Marks	Matt	Orangevale	CA	Investor	Tower Investments	7/27/2007	500.00
Marks	Steve	Woodland	CA	Developer/Property Manager	Tower Investments	7/27/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Alex	Franklin	TN	Developer/Property Manager	Tower Investments	8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	David	Sacramento	CA	Investor	Tower Investments	8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Matt	Orangevale	CA	Investor	Tower Investments	8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Steve	Woodland	CA	Developer/Property Manager	Tower Investments	8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Elizabeth	Forest Knolls	CA			8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Sara	Woodland	CA			8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Anne					8/9/2007	1,000.00
Marks	Alex	Franklin	TN	Developer	Tower Investments	7/31/2009	500.00

As reported previously, Tower Investments won a lawsuit stemming from an eminent domain battle over parcels that became part of the Music City Center. Originally offered $14.8 million for its property, a Nashville jury found that the fair value of the land is $30.3 million. This ruling puts the Music City Center at least $12 million over budget, plus additional legal fees.

In late 2006 and early 2007, Tower Investments bought five parcels in downtown Nashville, all of which would become part of the Music City Center land. At the time, the convention center project was building up steam, with the recommendation of the Music City Center Committee to build a new facility, rather than expand the existing convention center. Karl Dean made the Music City Center a priority during his first Mayoral race in 2007, and Tower Investments pumped $10,000 into his campaign coffers.

Tower Investments would go on to sell three parcels to the authority overseeing the Music City Center, and the other two to Omni Hotels, which is building the official hotel for the convention center. While the parcels sold to the authority became the subject of a lawsuit, Tower bought the Omni parcels for $5 million in November 2006, and sold them to Omni for $18.3 million in November 2010.

More information on eminent domain issues, and on Karl Dean's campaign finances, will be posted in future updates. We are currently processing Dean's recently filed report for the second quarter of 2011. See our Dean Campaign Finance page for more details.

An examination of Ceco Concrete's OSHA investigation files by CraneWatchdog.com reveals a disturbing pattern of citations for unsecured floor hole covers. On job sites in Chicago, Illinois and Las Vegas, Nevada Ceco was cited for violating a regulation requiring floor hole covers to be secured to prevent accidental displacement and accompanying hazards to employees. This issue may be less alarming if there was not pending litigation involving the death of a worker who allegedly fell several stories through a hole that had been poorly covered and unmarked by Ceco.

This month three racial discrimination cases have been filed against Ceco Concrete Construction in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division. African-American plaintiffs Manning, Moton, and Sims allege, in nearly identical complaints, that Ceco segregates work crew assignments by race and assigns more work to the non-African-American crews, effectively decreasing the pay of its African-American employees. The plaintiffs seek back pay and other additional benefits associated with employment as well as re-instatement or front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees and interest. For details on this litigation, visit our Ceco page.

Roundup: Karl Dean Stands up for Workers…in Canada;
Music City Center at Least $12 Million Over Budget;
Beyel Customer MCM Jobsite Accident

It has been a busy for week for Zeiger Crane. Last week it filed its delinquent May Operating Report, which was due no later than June 20th. The report shows a monthly profit of $41,178, down over $22,000 from the previous month, and the $100,853 in unpaid post-petition debt shown on the April 2011 report. Steve Zeiger's May salary decreased along with company profits to a paltry (for him) $20,000.

The U.S. Trustee for Region 21 filed an objection to Zeiger's disclosure statement and proposed reorganization plan for lack of sufficient information. The court was urged not to approve the plan or disclosure statement unless significant amendments are made, and to convert the case to Chapter 7.

Ford Motor Credit Co. filed a motion for relief from the automatic stay relating to Zeiger's failure to make its monthly payments on two Ford trucks. In May 2010, Zeiger contracted to pay 60 monthly installments of $877.35 for a 2010 Ford F250 and $798.28 for a 2010 Ford F150. The account is currently in default after Zeiger failed to make its May payments and any subsequent payments. Ford is seeking to repossess the trucks and sell them.

Zeiger is also seeking court approval of a settlement with another of its creditors, FCC Equipment Financing. As previously reported by CraneWatchdog.com, FCC had filed a complaint against Steve Zeiger and his companies. Zeiger responded by filing an adversary bankruptcy proceeding seeking an injunction to stay the litigation. The parties proposed a settlement in line with Zeiger's reorganization plan, a $3.5 million secured claim with a $1,799,150.34 unsecured claim. However, FCC agreed to reduce the claim to $1.2 million in connection with Steve Zeiger's personal guaranty. A judgment of this amount will be entered against Zeiger personally and will be paid in monthly installments after a 3-year forbearance. FCC will also receive $7500/month as adequate protection until the plan is confirmed.

In Lewis Crane news, two parties have filed objections to PNC Equipment Finance's application for an administrative claim. Frost National Bank objected arguing that the $120,000 claim bears no resemblance to the rental rate of $11,000/month for three months of use. On the other hand, the Trustee objected to the claim asserting that PNC is a secured creditor with no right to make an administrative claim to begin with.

Beyel Brothers continues to face environmental enforcement activities at its yards in Florida, even at its new headquarters, which opened just over one year ago.

Cocoa Headquarters - A storage tank inspection just one year after Beyel purchased its new headquarters found two minor violations. Brevard County issued a formal warning letter to Beyel in May 2011.

West Palm Beach – As reported in our June 2 update, Beyel was issued a "Notice of Potential Hazardous Waste Non-Compliance" at the West Palm Beach yard. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection followed up with a formal Inspection Report issued in July 2011. This report details 13 "Areas of Concern" and "Potential Violations" including paint and oil spills. The state gave Beyel 30 days to take several remedial actions. The report includes several photos of alleged violations, including the two below.

Orlando – also as reported June 2, Beyel failed a Storage Tank Inspection, receiving a "Major Out of Compliance" result. The matter was referred to Orange County's Environmental Protection Division, which issued a warning to Beyel in June 2011. The county and Beyel are working on a Consent Order which would fine the company $500.

Our Beyel Brothers Environmental Issues page has been updated. Further updates will be posted on this site as documents are released by various state and county offices.

New filings with the Florida Secretary of State show that Steve Retterath is lending money to Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport, and a company he controls is leasing General Crane's old headquarters to the Retterath-owned companies.

In these UCC filings, the addresses for Hunter and Merchant are listed as 1360 NW 33rd Street, Pompano Beach, which is the former headquarters of General Crane. Combined with the Palm Beach Land UCC, this helps confirm our previous reports that Hunter and Merchant are consolidating their assets into General's old yard. Retterath's other craneyards and properties remain for sale (see May 31 update below).

These transactions bear an eerie similarity to Retterath's history with General – he founded a crane rental company, sold it to new owners, and became its landlord. But in the case of Hunter and Merchant perhaps the new owner, his own son Jason, is less likely to take the remaining assets of the company he founded and start up a competitor, as Jim Robertson did with Allegiance Crane.

In the third consecutive hard-hitting Music City Center news story by Nashville Channel 4 anchor Demetria Kalodimos, two "underground" workers on the project have come forward. The drywall workers, speaking through an interpreter and with their images distorted, claim that they are being paid "under the table," well below the prevailing wage rates on the massive public project.

The carpenters further allege that no taxes, workers' comp, unemployment insurance or social security payments are being deducted from their checks. They also claim that they are not receiving overtime despite 11-hour days.

In a compelling hidden camera sting operation, the workers' alleged recruiter is asked about employment as a carpenter on the job. According to the translation, when asked whether a worker needs a Social Security number, the recruiter replies "No, use any number."

As is so often the case with the Music City Center, companies headquartered outside of Tennessee are allegedly involved (see our report on Local Company Involvement – or the lack of it – on the project). According to the story, the workers are paid by Stallings Drywall, a North Carolina subcontractor of Roswell Drywall, the Georgia firm that won the $17 million convention center contract.

Kalodimos' previous stories on certified payroll and religion issues are available below (see the July 11 update).

On Friday, the Liquidating Trustee for General Crane submitted twelve filings objecting to over 50 claims filed against the bankruptcy estate. Through these filings the trustee is seeking to either disallow the claims in their entirety or reduce the amounts or change the priority of the claims.

Included among the objections are claims by Steve Retterath, the founder and former landlord of General Crane, who filed a claim for $152,500. Retterath alleges he is owed payments on the lease with General Crane, executed in 2002.

Another interesting objection is to the $521,477 claim of Hunter Crane, which is owned by Retterath's son Jason, another former co-owner of General. According to an invoice attached to the claim, Hunter alleges it is owed for work on dozens of Florida jobs in 2008 and 2009, including prominent projects such as the Marlins stadium and the St. Regis. Among other objections, the Trustee asserts that Hunter is owed only $393,028.

If you have filed a claim in the General Crane bankruptcy proceeding, see the table below to determine whether the trustee is objecting to your claim. Claimants must file a written response disagreeing with the trustee's determination within 30 days of service.

On November 12, 2009, Wells Fargo filed a $12 million loan default lawsuit against General Crane. Coming on the heels of several other creditor lawsuits filed in summer and fall 2009, this case would prove to be the last straw, pushing General into bankruptcy court one month later.

The case, filed in Broward County Circuit Court, was only partly settled by payments made to Wells Fargo in the General Crane bankruptcy. The bank has continued to pursue its claims against the former owners of the crane company, who individually guaranteed loans for cranes and equipment.

Although Wells Fargo was paid $4.6 million in the General Crane bankruptcy (in addition to repossessing various equipment), the bank is alleging it is still owed millions in defaulted loans, interest, repossession costs and other fees (see an Affidavit filed by a Wells Fargo official which includes a detailed explanation of the amounts due).

Wells Fargo has won a judgment of $350,233.23 against Steven Retterath personally for his portion of the remaining debt. In a Motion for Reconsideration, Retterath argues in part that the percentage of liability of the defendants assigned to him by Wells Fargo is improper (one of his co-defendants is his son, Jason). This motion was denied by the judge.

Retterath has filed a notice that he will appeal the judgment. Well Fargo has already garnished Retterath's bank account at JP Morgan Chase Bank, and two Individual Retirement Accounts at Bank of America.

Steve Retterath was the founder of General Crane, later becoming the company's landlord. General Crane's assets were all repossessed or sold to Allegiance Crane in bankruptcy proceedings. Retterath and his son Jason now run Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport, much smaller crane companies which appear to be consolidating their operations in the abandoned headquarters of General Crane.

As part of our coverage of Ceco Concrete we are profiling its owners, the Heisley family. First in our series is the family patriarch, Michael Heisley, along with The Heico Companies, LLC, of which he is Chairman and CEO. While Heico is a conglomerate with over 50 companies across various industries, we have started our coverage with profiles of two: Tom's Foods, a former Heico-owned snack company, and the Memphis Grizzlies, an NBA franchise.

Tom's Foods, acquired by the Heisleys in 1993 and sold in 2005, and its former executives have been entangled in extensive legal battles. Former executives and board members, including Michael Heisley and Emily Heisley-Stoeckel, are being sued by retired Tom's employees for ERISA violations involving the company's terminated pension plan. The company also continues to fight its creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding filed over 6 years ago.

In future updates we will provide information on additional Heico-owned companies. Click Here to see our updated Ceco Concrete profile, which includes the new section on the Heisley family.

For the first time since we started monthly tracking of Beyel Brothers' delinquent property tax accounts, the total amount the company is past due has decreased.

With a June 30, 2011 payment of $35,063 on its tangible property taxes in Brevard County (half the amount past due), Beyel is now delinquent $307,863.79 on the taxes for five yards and for three tangible property accounts (covering cranes, vehicles and other equipment) in four Florida counties.

Since this site first started compiling Beyel's delinquent taxes across Florida, the monthly past due amounts have steadily increased from under $100,000 to $329,152.79 last month. With interest rates of up to 18% allowable on some of the past due accounts, and third-party investors purchasing tax certificates on several properties, Beyel will have to continue making large payments for the total delinquent amount to decrease further.

See our Beyel Property page for more details, including a full list of amounts due for each account. This information will be updated after August 1.

In some unusual good news for Lewis Crane a proposed settlement has been reached in its adversary case against Louisiana contractor Pete Vicari. The settlement, filed with the court for approval, contemplates a $36,000 payment to Lewis, which is nearly $10,000 less than what Vicari allegedly owes. In addition, Lewis will file a motion to dismiss the adversary proceeding with prejudice within 3 business days of the court's entry of a final order regarding the settlement. Each of the parties will also be released from liability arising from the contract.

Lewis creditor Sierra Equipment filed a slew of documents in further efforts to retrieve its collateral. As reported previously on Cranewatchdog, the automatic stay was lifted with regard to Sierra's collateral last year. Sierra filed a motion to compel Frost Bank to comply with the order lifting the stay, as Frost is in possession of Sierra's property and refuses to allow Sierra to take possession. It then filed yet another application for its administrative claim of close to $5 million for Lewis' failure to pay post-petition rent and return Sierra's equipment. Lastly, it filed a response in opposition to the Trustee's motion to enforce the automatic stay with regard to Sierra's collateral.

Lewis' trustee has filed an adversary proceeding against Service Life and Casualty Insurance Company for work performed on the La Vista on Lavaca Condominiums in Austin, TX on behalf of Lewis Equipment Co. and Rock Island Rigging. Service Life held a promissory note with the property as collateral in exchange for a $3.1 million loan. After the property's owners filed for bankruptcy in 2010, Service Life foreclosed on the property. Lewis and Rock Island had also filed liens against the property for non-payment on the terms of its 2008 agreement. The trustee seeks a declaration that Lewis' lien is senior to Service Life's note and damages caused to Lewis' bankruptcy estate by the foreclosure.

A motion to modify General Crane's reorganization plan has been filed in connection with a December 11, 2009 traffic accident in Texas. The plaintiff, Maria Martinez, was injured when the driver of a General Crane-owned 18-wheeler collided with a car behind hers, forcing that car into hers. In her motion, she seeks to modify the plan or lift the automatic stay in order to proceed in a personal injury case against General Crane's insurance carrier.

We will continue to monitor the painstakingly slow progress of the Lewis and General Crane bankruptcies.

Nashville's NBC affiliate, WSMV Channel 4, reported Friday night that the Music City Center Authority is collecting information on the religion, race and ethnicity of workers on the project, and making the data available on the Internet (Click here to see the report on the Music City website).

In addition to the question of why the government is even collecting this data, the story highlights some of the bizarre categories of religion and ethnicity. The choices for religion are essentially "Christian" and "Other," while the ethnicity categories include American, European and Arabic (which to the best of our knowledge is a language, not an ethnicity). Click here to see the video broadcast on WSMV's 6:00 news on July 8:

As previously reported, IUOE Local 369 and CraneWatchdog.com personnel were also interviewed by WSMV anchor Demetria Kalodimos on questions regarding the certified payrolls for the $600 million public project. The video, originally broadcast on July 7, can be seen here.

Nashville's NBC affiliate, WSMV Channel 4, included in its 6:00 news broadcast last night a story based on IUOE Local 369 and CraneWatchdog.com research on local hiring at the $600 million Music City Center.

In selling the publicly-financed project to local taxpayers, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean promised that the "vast majority" of workers hired on the project would be local residents, creating a local version of the stimulus package. But the Dean administration has not provided any specific numbers on local hiring, and a significant number of contracts have been awarded to out-of-state companies (see our report on Music City Center Local Company Involvement).

Certified payrolls filed by contractors on the Music City Center, required under the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage act, only raise more questions about local hiring. A review of the payrolls by the IUOE's mid-Tennessee Local 369 showed that worker addresses were redacted, when they were even reported to the Music City Center Authority. But the payrolls did show that many workers were paying income taxes, or contributing to benefit funds, outside of Tennessee.

Demetria Kalodimos, top Nashville news anchor and a leader of WSMV Channel 4's "I-Team" of investigative journalists, last night broadcast a story on the certified payrolls. Click on the story, available on WSMV's website, which features interviews with IUOE Local 369 and CraneWatchdog.com personnel

According to the Music City Center Authority, 61.8% of the workers on the jobsite during April 2011 were local residents. But even if this is true, 61.8% is hardly a "vast majority," and this data is only for one month out of the dozens it will take to complete the project.

A follow-up story on other issues surrounding the Music City Center will be broadcast on Channel 4 tonight, and will be available on this site Monday. See our Music City Center section for more details on Karl Dean's broken promises, Ceco Concrete's refusal to meet area standards, and much more.

In a hearing on June 29th the Disclosure Statement submitted by Lewis Crane was approved by the court, under the condition that Sierra's administrative claim is fully disclosed in the plan. As previously reported by Cranewatchdog, Sierra filed an objection to Lewis' Disclosure Statement on the grounds that Lewis failed to disclose the extent of Sierra's potential claim.

To comply with the court's order, Lewis submitted an Amended Disclosure on July 1st disclosing the amount of Sierra's potential claim and addressing the unfeasibility of its plan if the claim is granted in full.

Also on July 1st, Lewis creditor PNC Equipment Finance filed an administrative expense claim for $120,000 representing the amount due for the post-petition use of its collateral. In 2010, the court lifted the automatic stay with respect to PNC's collateral; however, Lewis' counsel and the Trustee requested that the Estate be permitted to retain possession of the collateral in exchange for adequate protection in the form of monthly payments. PNC accepted the offer; however, none of the payments were made.

In Zeiger news, the court issued an order granting the company's motion to extend the exclusivity period to file a reorganization plan and solicit votes in its favor from creditors after a June 28th hearing. The filing period and solicitation period are extended through August 19, 2011 and October 17, 2011, respectively.

As reported last October, a CraneWorks truck was involved in an accident with a '93 Nissan Maxima in downtown Talladega, AL. Now the driver of the Maxima has filed a lawsuit against CraneWorks, accusing the company and its driver of negligence and asking for compensatory and punitive damages.

A police report we obtained at the time describes the accident, but does not assign blame. Talladega's Daily Home newspaper ran an article about the accident, and published the photo below:

Our new Keith v. CraneWorks page will be updated regularly as new filings are made in the case.

In Nashville, it took the Music City Center Authority almost two pages worth of press release to finish extolling the virtues of a safety training held at the convention center jobsite last month. In what must have been an intense and exhaustive training, 650 workers were trained for 45 minutes on "struck down" injuries. The training, described as "rigorous" by Bell/Clark manager Lee Delong, included items such as posting signs to warn of overhead hazards. The June "struck down" training was further described as one of Bell/Clark's monthly trainings. It is unclear whether workers on the Music City Center receive a whole 45 minutes of safety training each month, or if this training was a special occasion.

Earlier this week two Lewis Crane creditors have filed objections to the Disclosure Statement filed by the Trustee on June 2nd. Sierra Equipment Inc. and FCC Equipment Financing separately argue that the Disclosure Statement fails to provide "adequate information" about the liquidation plan, as required by bankruptcy law. Both take issue with the lack of information provided on the determination and basis of Frost's diminution claim.

Sierra asserts not only that the Disclosure Statement fails to disclose the extent of its potential administrative claim, which exceeds the Trustee's allowance by approximately $900,000, but that the plan itself makes no provision for payment of this claim. Among other things, Sierra also urges the court not to confirm the plan because it completely releases the Trustee from liability for creditor claims.

Both creditors urge the court to deny approval of the Disclosure Statement. A hearing was held on it on June 29th; however, no ruling has been issued. Cranewatchdog will continue to report on any new developments in the Lewis Crane bankruptcy.

Omni Hotel breaks ground, and is already over budget – According to a story by Nashville's WSMV Channel 4, an 800-room Omni Hotel that will be attached to the Music City Center just broke ground, and is already over budget. The hotel project also includes an expansion – funded by tax dollars – of the adjacent Country Music Hall of Fame, which will cost $1.6 million more than the original estimate.

The construction of the Omni Hotel, and project general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie, will be added to our Ceco Concrete/Music City coverage as the project progresses.

Our profile of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has been updated with the Annual Financial and Other Disclosures ethics filings made by the Mayor for the years 2006-2009. According to these filings, Karl Dean reported income of $150,324 for 2009, the most recent year available. Dean also reported interests in real estate in Tennessee and Captiva Island, FL. Ethics filings for other Nashville officials are being collected and will be posted in future updates.

Additions to the site include biographical profiles on some of the Music City Center's most ardent supporters, Marty Dickens, the Chairman of the Convention Center Authority, and Ron Samuels, Chair of the Music City Center Coalition. Also profiled for our "Donor Spotlight", highlighting major donors to Mayor Karl Dean, is the Ingram family.

As reported in the May 10, 2011 Update below, Zeiger Crane Rental creditors are sparring over the proceeds of a nearly $4 million sale of cranes to Exact Crane and Cleveland Crane. People's Bank filed a suit in federal court in Florida against the two Ohio crane companies and against Wells Fargo, who received the majority of the proceeds.

Exact Crane and Cleveland Crane have filed an Answer and Cross-Claim, essentially denying the substantive issues in People's complaint and accusing Wells Fargo of a breach of "fiduciary duty to disclose the existence of People's competing interest in the cranes." Exact and Cleveland also accuse Wells Fargo of "fraud" and "fraudulent inducement" in the transaction.

Wells Fargo filed its own Answer, denying People's complaint and the Cross-Claim by Exact and Cleveland. Wells Fargo claims that "At best, the Cross-Claim asserts a failure to disclose something that is in public records."

In the Zeiger bankruptcy case, Zeiger filed a Motion in Opposition to TCF's Motion for Relief from Stay, part of an ongoing dispute over a Manitowoc 999 financed by TCF. The filing reveals that the crane in question is on a job in Indiana through September 2011. A hearing on this matter is scheduled for tomorrow in the bankruptcy court in Palm Beach.

The Lewis Equipment bankruptcy case continues to wind down. The company's May 2011 Monthly Operating Report has been filed, showing that Lewis is now down to just $608,955 in Total Current Assets. All Inventory has been disposed of – the April Inventory amount of $4.1 million has dropped to $0 for May.

The Trustee continues to pursue amounts allegedly due to the estate, with a hearing scheduled for July 12 on the Trustee's Motion to Enforce Automatic Stay, and for Stay Violation Sanctions, Against Sierra Equipment and Kirk Lewis. A hearing on Lewis' Disclosure Statement (see June 9 Update) is scheduled for Wednesday the 29th.

As previously reported, CraneWorks sued G1 Mechanical and ThyssenKrupp for $155K over alleged unpaid invoices stemming from work on the steel giant's new plant near Mobile, AL. Without explanation, CraneWorks dropped ThyssenKrupp as a defendant, and is now asking for a judgment of $191,484 against G1. CraneWorks has alleged that it was not paid for work performed, and also that it was owed the balance of a contract that was terminated early. Filings from the case are available on the CraneWorks v. G1 and ThyssenKrupp page.

In another case, CraneWorks reached a settlement with the tornado-ravaged town of Pleasant Grove, AL. After fifteen months of litigation, the town will pay CraneWorks $2,937, about half the amount originally sought by the crane company. See CraneWorks v. Pleasant Grove for details on this case.

The case Roberts v. J&O Towing and CraneWorks, involving a multi-vehicle accident near Mobile in September 2009, has been settled. We have also updated the records for all CraneWorks small claims cases. See our chart of "Other Business Debt Cases," which includes new information on several newly filed and recently resolved cases.

Our CraneWorks Litigation page includes summaries and filings for dozens of cases throughout Alabama. Information on workers' comp cases can be found on our CraneWorks Safety page.

Cranewatchdog's ongoing coverage of Beyel Brothers uncovered repeated environmental violations found on the company's properties by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Due to these numerous problems, we have added a separate Environmental page to address Beyel's compliance with DEP regulations.

Over the past few years five of Beyel's properties have been the subject of DEP intervention:

CraneWatchdog will continue to cover Beyel's environmental issues and provide updates.

As previously reported, Ceco Concrete has received "Women Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)" status in its incorporation state of Delaware and other jurisdictions. Through a state Freedom of Information Act request we have obtained a copy of the WBE Application filed by Ceco in December 2009, which includes financial and other information not usually available for a privately owned company.

Michael E. Heisley, Sr. is the billionaire owner of the Memphis Grizzlies and many other corporations. The other five individuals are his four daughters and one son. Heisley Sr. bought Ceco Concrete in 1995, and his daughter Emily Heisley-Stoeckel somehow obtained majority control on April Fool's Day, 2000. Presto! – a woman-owned business.

The application also discloses that Ceco had gross sales of just under $300 million in 2008 (year-to-date gross sales of $167 million are listed for 2009, but the exact time period covered is unclear). Ceco had 1,267 employees when the application was filed in 2009.

Emily Heisley-Stoeckel, whose rapid rise in the concrete industry allowed her to take majority control of Ceco at the age of 36, is listed as being responsible for "Financial Decisions" at Ceco. All other areas of responsibility – Estimating and Bidding, Negotiating and Contract Execution, Personnel Management, Field/Production Operations, Office Management, Marketing/Sales, Purchasing and Check Signing – are assigned to other individuals, none of them members of the Heisley family.

Ceco discloses that its three largest jobs in the previous three years were all contracts worth around $20 million, and all three took place in Las Vegas (the Fontainebleau for Colasanti, Lifestyles/The Harmon for Perini, and the Cosmopolitan Hotel for Perini).

More information from Ceco's WBE applications in other jurisdictions, and comprehensive profiles of Emily Heisley-Stoeckel and other Heisley family members, will be posted in future updates.

On June 9th, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court issued an order on Citicapital's Motion for Relief from Automatic Stay in the Zeiger proceeding (reported by Cranewatchdog in our March 16, 2011 update). In its motion Citicapital sought the court's permission to either repossess the equipment it provided financing for or, alternatively, regular monthly payments from Zeiger.

The court's order allows Citicapital to assert its right to repossess the Link-Belt HTC-8690 it financed; thus, it is not entitled to the payments it otherwise sought. In the hearing held on the motion, Zeiger and Citicapital agreed to the substance of the order.

In other Zeiger news, the company filed for an extension of the exclusive period it can file its reorganization plan and solicit affirmative votes from creditors. It sought a 60-day extension of the Exclusive Filing Period and the Exclusive Solicitation Period, which were to expire on June 20, 2011 and August 17, 2011, respectively. Zeiger cites the uncertainty as to whether its plan will require amendments or modifications after a hearing on the disclosure statement scheduled for August 8, 2011 as part of the basis for the extension.

Lastly, as the General Crane bankruptcy comes closer to its conclusion two orders have been issued with respect to its attorneys at Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP. The first, issued on June 14, 2011, approved the bankruptcy administrator's application to appoint Michael Seese and Hinshaw & Culbertson in connection with the proceeding. On June 17, 2011, the court issued an order approving Hinshaw & Culbertson's fee application and supplemental fee application in the amounts of $168,865 and $8,468.94, respectively, for the period from December 1, 2010 to February 14, 2011.

Definitely not in Ft. Lauderdale federal court or the West Palm Beach zoning office, according to public records. But the former co-owner of General Crane may want to consider showing up in those locations, considering the amount of money his alleged absences could cost him.

Although Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath long ago parted ways, they still find themselves entangled in the remnants of General Crane, even after all substantive issues in the crane company's bankruptcy have been concluded.

Mack Financial Services sued the former company owners earlier this year, alleging that they personally guaranteed a defaulted loan to General Crane for six Mack trucks. Although Jim Robertson has filed an answer to the suit, Jason Retterath apparently has not.

Mack is now seeking a default judgment of $88,613.12 against Jason Retterath, alleging that despite being properly served with the lawsuit, Retterath has failed to make any filings in the case. An affidavit attached to the motion alleges that General Crane defaulted on the loan in February 2011, and 18% interest has been accruing.

Retterath, currently the owner of Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport, has also been reported AWOL at the Palm Beach County Code Enforcement office, another situation which could potentially cost him a lot of money. According to an Order by a Code Enforcement Special Magistrate, Retterath installed "fences, walls, gates, gate posts and lighting" on his property last year, without permits (we have redacted the residential address listed in the order).

The Magistrate found that Retterath has missed two deadlines to abate the zoning issues, and has not appeared at two hearings. An enforcement lien has been issued against the property. According to the order, a fine of $50 per day of non-compliance has been issued, beginning on November 30, 2010.

Robertson and Retterath are also still involved in issues stemming from their now-dormant Nevada company, Republic Tower, whose equipment sits unused in the desert outside Las Vegas (see recent photo below). These issues will be explored in future updates.

As part of our coverage of the Music City Center, we investigated how well Mayor Dean and his allies have followed through on their promise to engage local businesses in its construction. We found that while the project was sold to local residents as Nashville's "mini-stimulus package," the majority of the contract dollars awarded thus far went to contractors based outside of Tennessee. While it does not necessarily follow that these companies will hire non-local workers, it shows that Mayor Dean and his supporters have not held up their end of the bargain in their support of local businesses.

Beyel Brothers' delinquent property taxes now stand at $329,152.79, a near 11% increase over last month's total (see May 6 update below).

Brevard and Orange Counties have recently concluded tax certificate auctions, in which a third-party investor can pay a property tax bill, then charge the owner for the face amount plus interest. With interest rates of up to 18% allowable in some circumstances, Beyel's total delinquency amount will increase dramatically each month if the company continues to fail to pay its tax bills. Third-party investors have purchased the tax certificates in both Brevard (a parcel at Beyel's old headquarters in Cocoa) and Orange (Beyel's Orlando yard).

Beyel is delinquent on the taxes for five yards and for three tangible property accounts (covering cranes, vehicles and other equipment) in four Florida counties.

See our Beyel Property page for more details, including a full list of amounts due for each account.

Lewis Crane has finally filed its liquidation plan and accompanying disclosure statement. Both depict a company in dire financial straits with very little to deliver to its creditors in the bankruptcy proceeding.

At this point all equipment creditors have obtained relief from the automatic stay and have foreclosed on the equipment in Lewis' possession. The trustee has wound-up all of Lewis' business operations so that no actual business remains. The documents make a point of stating numerous times that there will be no post-confirmation operations or generation of revenue as a result.

Much of the liquidation plan consists of standard terms; however, some highlights include:

The disclosure statement contains an interesting, detailed history of Lewis Equipment (see page 35 of 49 in the .PDF file, "Debtors' Background Information)." The filing attributes the company's financial problems leading to its filing for bankruptcy to the general economic downturn, rather than Lewis' mismanagement and "lavish spending" cited in previous filings. It also lays blame on Wachovia's successor, Wells Fargo, for filing an ex parte writ of sequestration rather than continuing negotiations with Lewis, disrupting negotiations between Lewis and its other creditors.

Later in the document (page 45 of 49), the Trustee explains that attempts to sell Lewis as a "going concern" fell through on two separate occasions. One of these instances is blamed on "potential tortious interference" by third parties, which the Trustee, who charges up to $400 per hour, threatens to litigate. If any readers have tips on who these nefarious third parties might be, please Contact Us.

A reader tipped us off to the article "Workers Plummet 15m" from Australia's Gold Coast Bulletin, which describes a scary but luckily non-fatal hoist accident on a large hospital job. Sources report that the hoist in question was a bare rental from Lewis' Australian operation, although Lewis is not named in the news article. An Australian labor union issued an "On Site Alert" about this accident.

Crane Watchdog expands to Tennessee today, beginning full coverage of Ceco Concrete. Our Ceco coverage will also include the project – and the politician – who brought Ceco in to undercut area standards for crane operators in Nashville.

Nashville's economy has been pummeled by the one-two punch of the downturn in the tourism industry and the devastating flood of 2010. Mayor Karl Dean and his allies (and donors) in the Nashville business community sold the Music City Center as a mini-stimulus package that would get Nashville working again.

But the $600 million convention center project – the largest public project in Tennessee history – has not been the boon to Nashville workers that Karl Dean promised. Major contracts have been awarded to out-of-state companies including Missouri-based Ceco, owned by billionaire Michael Heisley, who also owns the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies. The Dean administration refuses to release data to back up their claims that the project is meeting their ever-shifting local hiring goal.

Our Ceco profile includes key financial, litigation, and workplace safety information on the company. We have also created a database of the 3,219 campaign contributions Karl Dean has received since 2006, with information on Dean donors and Music City and Nashville government contractors.

Much more information on Ceco, Karl Dean and Music City will be released in the weeks ahead, and coverage will soon be expanded to include Bell and Associates Construction and other contractors and subs on the project. Please sign up for updates to be notified when new information is posted on this site (current subscribers do not need to sign up again).

While Zeiger Crane Rental may see light at the end of the tunnel of its recent financial problems, it is clear that conditions for Zeiger workers continue to deteriorate.

Already among the lowest-paid workers we have surveyed, and already going without any employer-sponsored retirement plan, now Zeiger workers have been offered a health care plan among the worst we have seen in the crane rental industry.

This huge deduction – almost $800 per month – buys healthcare coverage with high co-pays and a deductible of $3,000. If a worker chooses family dental, the cost rises to $206 per week.

There are few Florida crane operators – and probably none at Zeiger – who can afford such an expensive plan. But as the company letter to employees suggests, there is always the option to "seek coverage elsewhere on your own."

This plan covers only employees in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties in South Florida. Employees outside this tri-county area reportedly have an even worse plan, with a ridiculous weekly deduction of over $300 for family coverage.

As Steve Zeiger maneuvers to save his crane company, we maintain that it is possible to do so without further undercutting the living standards of Zeiger workers. This website, and the International Union of Operating Engineers, will continue to hold accountable Steve Zeiger, and his customers and creditors, for their treatment of Zeiger workers.

Beyel Brothers, which has been the subject of state enforcement actions at several yards in Florida, is now facing new environmental problems in West Palm Beach and Orlando.

According to documents released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which has already fined Beyel over $40,000 and ordered the company to remediate environmental issues in Cocoa, Merritt Island and West Palm Beach, Beyel was issued a "Notice of Potential Hazardous Waste Non-Compliance" at the West Palm Beach yard. As listed in the Notice, "potential" non-compliance items include releases of waste, failure to label containers and failure to respond to releases.

In the Notice, a state inspector claims a "resin-like substance" was leaking out of a storage container on a loading dock, several used oil containers were not properly labeled, and four "points of release" must be contained. The inspector gives Beyel seven days to correct these issues.

Click the photos below to see enlarged images of the alleged leak on the loading dock of Beyel's yard:

These new items were discovered during a follow up inspection on previously ordered remediation efforts, which "Beyel has ceased…without reaching resolution" according to a letter to Beyel from the DEP. According to the letter, Beyel still must address problems concerning high concentrations of chlorinated solvents at the West Palm yard, and potential "migration of the chlorinated solvents to the public wellfield." The letter also claims that Beyel is overdue on previously ordered tests and site assessments.

In Orlando, Beyel failed a Storage Tank Inspection, receiving a "Major Out of Compliance" result for violations including failure to notify the state of a new installation and failure to perform and record inspections of the tank. The state also notes that a wooden staircase adjacent to the tank "may be a fire code violation:"

Some of the violations were corrected by the time the Inspection Report was filed, others have been "referred to enforcement." This site will be updated as the state DEP releases new information on enforcement activities at Beyel yards.

Jason and Steve Retterath have put all of their craneyards – and a mobile home park – on the market. Sources report that the Retteraths are not actually attempting to sell all of their craneyards; rather, the owners of Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport are looking to consolidate their holdings into one location.

The Lewis Equipment bankruptcy drags on, with the filing of an April 2011 Operating Report that can best be described as "sad." The bankruptcy trustee continues to dispose of Lewis assets, as cash and assets continue to dwindle. Net loss for the quarter was just under $2.5 million. Lewis did still have a monthly payroll of $87,148, although it is unclear how many of the remaining employees are office workers winding down the company or crane operators and other construction workers. As reported in the May 24 update below, the Lewis trustee continues to attempt to collect assets allegedly owed the estate, with the filing of an adversary lawsuit against Louisiana contractor Pete Vicari.

Lastly, the People's v. Steve Zeiger lawsuit has been settled and dismissed. The suit, filed in federal court in Houston during the height of the conflict between Zeiger Crane Rental and its top creditor, was likely made moot by the settlement agreement with People's in the crane company's bankruptcy case. See several updates below, beginning March 2, for more on the conflict and settlement between People's United and Zeiger.

Yesterday Zeiger Crane filed its reorganization plan and disclosure statement. It appears that while the company gets a fresh start, the plan provides a strict accounting of how its finances must be handled.

If approved, Zeiger would emerge as a smaller company, as it has already turned over several cranes to creditors. After reorganization the proposed "equipment configuration" of the company consists of 7 crawler cranes and 3 hydraulic cranes, with 5 more to be rented post-confirmation. The plan lays out detailed monthly payment plans for the next 5-7 years for four of Zeiger's creditors: People's United Finance Equipment Finance Corp. ("People's"), FCC Equipment Financing ("FCC"), Kelly Tractor Company ("Kelly"), and TCF Equipment Financing ("TCF"). However, Zeiger would be able to make interest-only payments on several loans, buying the company some time to stabilize financially.

The plan reveals the intended substantive consolidation of Zeiger Crane and Atlantic Leasing after the plan's Effective Date. In the consolidation, all of the companies' assets and liabilities will be treated as pooled for the purposes of voting on the plan and distribution under the plan. All claims filed against either will be deemed filed against both.

It also states that "all executory contracts and unexpired leases" between the Zeiger/Atlantic Leasing and any person are rejected as of the Effective Date except those already assumed or rejected prior. Included in the definition of "executory contracts" are:

"all employment and severance practices and policies, and all compensation and benefit plans, policies, and programs of the Debtors applicable to their shareholders, members or employees who served as directors, officers and employees, respectively, on or after the Petition Date, including, without limitation, all savings plans, retirement plans (exclusive of defined benefit plans), health care plans, severance benefit plans, incentive plans, workers' compensation programs and life, disability and other insurance plans."

The plan goes on to say that even if Zeiger/Atlantic Leasing assumes these "executory contracts", it has the right to modify them. So, while the company may get a fresh start it may do so at the expense of its employees and benefit plans.

In a May 18th complaint, the trustee for Lewis Crane filed suit against a client, Pete Vicari General Contractor, LLC. The parties signed an Operated Mobile Crane Lease Agreement where Lewis Crane agreed to provide a mobile crane, a mobile crane operator, and related services to the defendant for construction of an elementary school in Louisiana. Vicari agreed to pay $18,880 monthly in addition to freight costs associated with delivery and removal of the crane; however, the company has yet to pay the amount owed under the contract, $45,600. Lewis Crane is seeking the full amount owed, attorneys' fees, costs and pre-and post-judgment interest.

In other recent news, General Crane avoided paying the full premium for its workers compensation insurance for 2009-10. On December 10, 2010, Summit Consulting filed a $46,493.03 administrative claim General Crane's bankruptcy proceeding, representing a $39,099.20 workers compensation insurance premium for coverage from April 1, 2009 to April 1, 2010, losses paid to a General Crane employee, and a delinquency fee.

General Crane's trustee filed an opposition to Summit's claim arguing that under bankruptcy law the claim should not be allowed in its entirety or, alternatively, allowed for only a prorated portion of the agreed-to premium. In the court's May 11th order, Summit was awarded only a $12,902.74 administrative claim, the premium prorated for post-petition period from December 8, 2009 to April 1, 2010. In effect, General Crane avoided paying 66% of the $39,099.20 premium it contracted to pay to ensure its employees would receive benefits for on-the-job injuries. See our General Crane safety page for details and documentation of the company's workplace safety record.

CraneWatchdog.com sources spotted several Zeiger cranes and stacks of boom stored in a new lot in Jacksonville, FL, some 300 miles north of the crane company's West Palm Beach headquarters.

The Zeiger equipment is being held in a new, unpaved lot on Normandy Boulevard, west of the city of Jacksonville. As of this morning, a chain link fence was still being constructed around the lot.

The exact ownership of this property is unclear – the closest street address to the lot is 12104 Normandy Blvd, which is the Golden Nugget mobile home park, owned by an entity called Jacksonville Land Development. The storage lot and mobile home park are surrounded by undeveloped land owned by the City of Jacksonville and the State of Florida.

See the photos below of the Jacksonville lot taken this morning: (Click each picture to enlarge.)

As reported May 12, third party haulers (including one based in Jacksonville) were recently spotted removing equipment from Zeiger's yard, reportedly on behalf of top creditor People's Bank. It is unclear at this time whether the cranes found in Jacksonville have been repo'd by People's or are there for some other purpose. Any further developments will be posted on this site.

Zeiger Crane Rental has filed its monthly operating report for April 2011, showing increased revenues and expenses and a monthly profit of $63,832, about half of its March 2011 profit.

Zeiger still has not made any payments to secured creditors other than Ford Motor Credit, and now has a balance of $100,853 in unpaid debts incurred post-petition. More than half of this amount is owed to Cleveland Crane, whose transactions with Zeiger are the subject of the People's v. Wells Fargo lawsuit (see May 10 and 11 updates below).

Steve Zeiger paid himself $25,000 in salary in April, a jump from his March take of $15,000.

Barring any court approved extensions, Zeiger's Plan of Reorganization and Disclosure Statement are expected to be filed today. Those documents will be posted on this site as soon as they are available.

As announced in the May 16th update, CraneWatchdog.com has updated our extensive highway safety reports on our featured crane rental companies. Today, we look at the highway safety record of Beyel Brothers, Inc. of Cocoa, FL.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates trucks, cranes, buses and other heavy vehicles engaged in interstate commerce. According to an updated FMCSA safety report on Beyel Brothers, the company's "Carrier Safety Rating" remains "Conditional," which the agency defines as "Records indicate that the carrier was out of compliance with one or more safety requirements."

An extensive Carrier Safety Profile shows that this "Conditional" safety rating is due in part to "Critical and Acute Violations" regarding "Qualifications of Drivers" and "Drug and Alcohol Program" and an "Unsatisfactory" rating for a "Recordable/Preventable Crash Rate."

The full safety report also shows that over the past two years Beyel was cited for a total of 161 violations during vehicle, driver and hazardous materials inspections.

Beyel Customer United Forming Updated:
New Information on Litigation, Benefits,
and Tax Liens

Our profile of Beyel Brothers customer United Forming, an employee-owned, private concrete structure builder based in Austell, GA, has been updated with new information in the following sections:

See the full profile of United Forming for updated information in these and other sections. Other Beyel customer profiles will be updated in the weeks ahead.

As part of our effort to monitor the safety records of our featured crane rental companies, CraneWatchdog.com has updated our highway safety reports. Today, we look at the highway safety record of CraneWorks of Birmingham, AL.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates trucks, cranes, buses and other heavy vehicles engaged in interstate commerce. According to the FMCSA Carrier Safety Profile on CraneWorks, the company's "Carrier Safety Rating" remains "Conditional," which the agency defines as "Records indicate that the carrier was out of compliance with one or more safety requirements." This is still due in part to "Critical Violations" and an "Unsatisfactory" rating for compliance with federal regulations on "Hours of Service of Drivers:"

CraneWorks' 33.3% rate of truck inspections leading to "Out of Service" orders has improved slightly from last year's 46.2%, but remains well above the national average. In the past two years, just 12 CraneWorks trucks have been inspected, but 4 of them were ordered "Out of Service."

In the coming days, CraneWatchdog.com will post an updated highway safety report for Beyel Brothers.

As previously reported on Cranewatchdog, Zeiger was scheduled to file a plan of reorganization incorporating the terms and conditions of its settlement with People's five calendar days of an order approving the settlement. The court issued an order giving its approval on May 5th. Today, nine calendar days after the order was issued, Zeiger has yet to file its updated plan.

Zeiger's delay has not prevented People's from carrying out the settlement's terms. According to reports, third-party haulers, including Rinaudo Enterprises of Jacksonville, FL, have been seen repossessing cranes from Zeiger property on People's behalf.

In other Zeiger news, a meeting of Zeiger's creditors was held on May 10th where the U.S. Trustee decided not to appoint a creditor committee in the case.

Also, a short article on co-owner David Upton reveals that the devastating Alabama tornadoes of April 27 have been good for business at CraneWorks, where the phones have been "ringing constantly" since the tragedy. The article includes a photo of a smiling David Upton atop one of his cranes. In short, the article also mentions unique CraneWorks projects and a presidential visit that took place just short of eight years ago.

Wells Fargo and the two Ohio crane companies swung back, at both People's and each other, in their answers to the People's lawsuit reported yesterday on Cranewatchdog. The two Ohio crane companies, Cleveland Crane and Exact Crane, filed their own answer apart from Wells Fargo's.

While the parties have their own arguments against People's, both filings take issue with the characterization of the collateral. People's referred to the collateral as "inventory", while Wells Fargo and the crane companies both assert it is "equipment." While the distinction seems insignificant it will be decisive in the outcome of this lawsuit. If the collateral is characterized as "inventory", People's lien was senior to Wells Fargo's; however, if it is "equipment", it was not covered by People's security agreement giving Wells Fargo senior status. In its answer, Wells Fargo asserts that it had a senior lien on the collateral consistent with characterization as equipment.

In an unexpected turn of events Cleveland Crane filed a cross-claim suit in its answer against Wells Fargo alleging a breach of the fiduciary duty to disclose and fraud. Cleveland Crane stated that it was Wells Fargo who initially made contact with the company suggesting a buy-back of the cranes it originally sold to Zeiger in 2006, negotiated the terms of the sale, and crafted the transaction. It asserts that Wells Fargo knew, or should have known, of People's competing interest and did not disclose it, which it had a duty to do. It seeks actual and compensatory damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, and any other costs the court deems appropriate.

The Zeiger legal wrangling is no longer limited to the company versus its creditors; now its creditors are battling each other over its limited assets. In a document filed on May 6th it was revealed that Zeiger's largest creditor, the litigious People's United, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against its fellow Zeiger Creditor, Wells Fargo, as well as two Ohio crane companies.

The suit arises from Zeiger's February sale of three Manitowoc 999 crawlers (and boom components) and one Link Belt HTC to Exact Crane and Cleveland Crane for a total of $3,875,000. Almost all of the proceeds, $3,550,000, were paid to Wells Fargo in exchange for releasing Steve Zeiger and Nancy Zeiger from personal liability for their $5.4 million existing debt. Cranewatchdog previously reported on the February dismissal of Wells Fargo's Palm Beach County lawsuit against the Zeigers. The People's March 16th suit claims, not only that the sale deprived it of its senior creditor status, but that the sale was fraudulent, the result of a conspiracy, and should essentially be set aside by the court.

As previously reported by Cranewatchdog, People's provided financing to both Zeiger Crane and Atlantic Leasing in excess of $20 million. It secured this debt with security agreements granting People's a security interest and first priority with respect to all inventory acquired by the companies, subject to limited exceptions. Any additional liens placed on the inventory would come second to that of People's. In its filing, People's asserts that Wells Fargo is a junior lienholder who should not have received the proceeds of Zeiger's inventory sale. It also takes issue with the fact that Zeiger remains in possession of the inventory in spite of the sale and the timing of the sale, days before the companies filed for bankruptcy.

The revelatory May 6th filing was made by Wells Fargo stating a claim against Zeiger for $5,221,960.03 plus pre-bankruptcy petition interest and fees, contingent on whether People's litigation is successful. Visit our Zeiger Bankruptcy page for more information.

With the passing of another month comes more interest and penalties on Beyel Brothers' perpetual delinquent property tax status in several Florida counties. Beyel has failed to make any tax payments since our update April 7 (and correction on April 14).

Beyel is now delinquent or past due $297,001.42 for property taxes on eight parcels in four Florida counties. In addition to the 2010 taxes which were due on April 1, taxes on two of these parcels are still due for 2009, and Beyel has failed to pay the 2008 taxes on its Orlando yard.

Nearly half of Beyel's total delinquency comes from the company's West Palm Beach location. The company owes over $130K for 2009 and 2010 real property taxes and for 2010 tangible property taxes. Beyel is also past due on its property taxes in Fort Pierce and Cocoa.

Zeiger Crane has overcome a major hurdle this week as it navigates through bankruptcy. The settlement agreement between Zeiger and its biggest creditor People's United was approved yesterday, giving the struggling crane outfit some room to breathe.

As previously reported on Cranewatchdog, People's came out swinging after Zeiger filed for bankruptcy protection starting with its strong objection to Zeiger's use of cash collateral in which it said that the crane company "cannot be trusted." The creditor also sued Steve Zeiger personally for $24 million, and then filed a motion to appoint a Trustee to run Zeiger. This assault prompted the crane company to file an emergency motion for a protective order against the bank. See updates on February 24th, March 2nd, March 21st, and 24th.

On April 4th, Zeiger and People's released a proposed settlement agreement in which Zeiger will surrender a long list of cranes and equipment, though some will be leased back to the crane company. People's will also foreclose on all land held by Dyer Road Property, this includes Zeiger's headquarters property. Additionally, the creditor will not pursue Steve Zeiger's personal loan guarantees. See April 5th update for more information. All other entities or people that hold interest in the equipment in the settlement "are forever barred, stopped and permanently enjoined from" pursuing that interest against People's.

As part of the settlement, Zeiger has five calendar days to file a plan of reorganization and must make monthly payments of $65,000. Two other orders were issued yesterday: one granting Zeiger's motion to use cash collateral, and the other granting the company's motion to assume a contract with Premium Finance Corp – see April 13th update.

In a document filed April 28th, Zeiger has voluntarily dismissed Ring Power from the adversary case. People's United and Caterpillar remain the only two defendants in the case, though a settlement between People's and Zeiger has been proposed and is awaiting court approval. Visit the Zeiger bankruptcy page for more information.

The judge in the Lewis bankruptcy case has issued an order granting the Trustee's motion to hire a mediator. The Trustee filed the motion in order to conclude various litigation affecting the debtor's estate (like Lewis v. Seidel).

In other Lewis news, the company has released its operating report for March. It shows a company in the last stages of liquidation: cash sales for the month equaled $0 and the value for "property, plant, and equipment" is listed at $0. According to the report, $1,091,411 is due to Lewis Equipment from insiders – specific names are not listed.

Bank Midwest has withdrawn its motion against Palm Beach Trucking to compel compliance with the Plan of Liquidation. Bank Midwest originally complained that the Retteraths were not allowing the bank to reclaim its equipment from the Palm Beach Trucking yard in Delray Beach.

According to the 2011 annual report filed with the Florida Division of Corporations, Jim Robertson is no longer a manager of Southwestern Tower. Southwestern Tower makes up half of the Las Vegas crane outfit Republic Tower. See the General Crane page for more information on Southwestern and Republic.

Zeiger filed its March Operating Report in bankruptcy court yesterday. The crane company finished the month with a profit of $139,799, total receipts equaled $504,230.

Provided on page 15 is a list of outstanding bills Zeiger has incurred since filing for bankruptcy, which add up to $142,479.08.

Zeiger accumulated $330,557 in new debt in March, but made a few payments to one of its creditors – Ford Motor Credit. Zeiger did not make payments to any of its other creditors, for some loans Zeiger has missed two payments. Altogether, the crane company is delinquent $563,008.37 in post petition payments – see page 16.

The company again claims that "depreciation stopped as of bankruptcy" so the value of Zeiger's fixed assets have not changed from the last operating report (see update on April 8th). A list of equipment and their values is included on page 18 of the report.

Zeiger seems to have corrected earlier spelling errors, its equipment description (which was only necessary on the first report) now reads:

Steve Zeiger paid himself a little less in March, according to the report he was paid $15,000 in wages, plus $965.85 for health insurance, $7.65 for term life insurance, and $51.72 for dental.

Zeiger has been given permission to hire two appraisers, Stephen Shaw of Callaway & Price and David Feigel of Blackbird Asset Services. In separate orders, the bankruptcy judge allowed Zeiger to hire Stephen Shaw to appraise real estate and David Feigel to determine the value of "cranes and other rolling stock." The orders allow Zeiger to use cash collateral to pay up to $21,000 to Callaway and Blackbird, any fees over $21,000 must be paid by Steve Zeiger "without prejudice" to his rights to make an administrative claim.

Caterpillar filed its answer in the adversary case brought by Zeiger. In the filing Caterpillar denies all allegations set out by Zeiger. Zeiger crane received another loan continuation from People's. The loan, originally issued in 2006, covers a Link-Belt 300T Lattice Boom Crawler Crane, serial number L9J6-8484.

A hearing was held last Thursday (4/21/2011) on Zeiger's compromise with People's United. The settlement involves Zeiger surrendering cranes and equipment, People's foreclosing on several properties, and forgiving Steve Zeiger's personal loan guarantees – see April 5th update below. Nothing has been filed with the court clerk as of yet. Items will be posted as they become available.

The Arlington, Texas residence of Kristopher Kyle Lewis has been foreclosed and resold, according to Tarrant County real estate records. The new deed, signed March 1st, 2011, indicates that Lewis defaulted on his loan payments. The house was then seized and sold at public auction to Consumer Solutions 3, LLC.

The house was built in 2003 for a reported $2.7 million; at auction the house sold for $950,000. Now, for the low price of $1,449,000, one can enjoy this North Texas, 9466 square foot estate. According to the real estate listing which includes many photos of the interior and exterior of the mansion, the new owners will be able to spread their wings on 2 acres of land featuring a "3 tier waterfall" that cascades gently to a private pond. The house features 4 bedrooms, 5 (full) bathrooms, a "designer master closet," "custom interior" 5 car garage, "cascading pool with spa and outside steam shower," and "floor to ceiling windows overlooking beautiful views." For wine-lovers there is a cellar in the kitchen.

Kyle Lewis was the owner of Lewis Crane, Lewis Equipment, and several other affiliate companies that declared bankruptcy on 9/18/2009, are currently administered by a US Trustee, and in the process of liquidation.

Roundup: Zeiger Relief from Stay Motion,
Lewis Trustee hired Mediator, Beyel Financials, Retterath/Robertson fight

TCF, an Atlantic Leasing creditor (a subsidiary of Zeiger), filed a motion for relief from automatic stay yesterday, claiming that Atlantic Leasing has defaulted on a $1,932,750 loan agreement. TCF asserts that Atlantic stopped making monthly payments in December 2010 and owes $1,751,791.35. The creditor is asking for relief to repossess a Manitowoc 999 or an "order compelling Atlantic to make adequate protection payments."

The Trustee for Lewis Crane filed a motion in bankruptcy court to hire Harlan Martin to mediate litigation between the debtors (Lewis Crane, Hardrock Road Properties, etc.) and other parties. The adversary case Seidel v. Lewis et al is specifically mentioned in the motion. The mediator will cost $2,500 per day plus a one-time fee of $175. Martin made a note in Appendix A stating that he will bill $2,500 per party per day. Seidel v. Lewis is an adversarial case brought by Seidel, the Trustee for the Lewis estate. He complains that Lewis knowingly deprived Lewis Crane and its affiliates of resources and funds for personal use to the detriment of the companies.

Palm Beach Trucking, a Retterath controlled entity, withdrew its motion to compel Allegiance Crane to pay rent. In the earlier motion, Palm Beach Trucking was seeking an order to compel Allegiance Crane to pay $4,000 for the storage of equipment at Palm Beach Trucking's yard. No reason was given as to why the motion was withdrawn. This removes all pending disputes between Retterath and Robertson; however, Bank Midwest's motion to force Palm Beach Trucking to allow access to equipment is pending in bankruptcy court – see April 7, 2011 update below.

Another Beyel loan has been terminated this month, making it the 31st of the year. The loan with CityCap Equipment Finance, LLC covered a Link-Belt LS 238H, 150 ton crane.

Today marks the six month anniversary of a 7% pay cut for all Beyel Brothers employees. On October 19, 2010, Beyel announced "temporary pay cuts" across the board, but urged employees to stay with the company "knowing that we will revert to paying 100% wages as soon as possible."

According to several current employees at different Beyel yards, the "temporary" cut remains in effect at the half-year mark, and the cuts have not been further addressed by Beyel management.

Also, the end of April will mark one and a half years since Beyel contributed to its workers' retirement plan. Beyel announced the "suspension" of contributions to its already meager 401k plan effective November 2, 2009. As with the pay cut, Beyel promised employees that it would "make every effort to reverse this decision as soon as economically feasible," but there has been no further word from the company on the retirement cut.

In our April 7 update below, we reported that Beyel Brother's long history of failing to pay taxes on time had continued with the passing of the April 1 property tax deadline in Florida. Unfortunately, we missed one – Beyel also failed to timely pay the property taxes on their new headquarters in Cocoa.

The first ever tax bill for Beyel's headquarters (which the company bought just under one year ago) was for $30,131.87. Because Beyel failed to pay the bill by April1, $31,035.83 is now due to the Brevard County tax collector.

Beyel's total tax delinquency now stands at $295,802.16 for eight parcels in four Florida counties, not the lower amount previously reported. Our Beyel Property page has been corrected.

In early February 2011 (pre-bankruptcy), Zeiger entered into a financing agreement with Premium Assignment Corporation for commercial automobile liability insurance at the rate of nine monthly payments of $7,828.04 plus a down payment of $7,604.20. Today Zeiger filed an emergency motion to assume that contract with Premium Assignment Corporation.

The contract was entered into prior to seeking bankruptcy protection and Zeiger must now seek approval to continue its payments to PAC. Without the contract Zeiger asserts it could be subject to liability if an incident should happen that is not covered by its other insurance policies.

A footnote on page 6 throws doubt on some of Zeiger's claims about the contract. The note states "PAC asserts that the Agreement is not an executory contract" because the actual premium balance has not been paid to the insurance carrier. Zeiger claims the agreement as executory because it has paid at least one installment to Premium Assignment Corporation.

In other Zeiger news, the crane company and Citicapital Commerical Corporation have agreed to postpone a hearing involving Citicapital's motion for relief from stay. The hearing will be held prior to April 29th.

Zeiger filed its first monthly operating report mandated by bankruptcy rules. The February report only covers 10 days, from the time Zeiger filed for bankruptcy on the 18th to the end of the month. The operating balance for the 10 day period was -$38,444.

According to the accounts payable reconciliation table, Zeiger incurred $71,411 in new debt from February 18th to the 28th. The crane company managed to make a few payments to some of its creditors, see list below:

In the fixed assets reconciliation, Zeiger claims the book value of its assets at just over $22 million and the depreciation expense at $0. A note beneath the table reads "Decpriciation stoped as of bankruptcy" (actual spelling). Asset values in Zeiger's bankruptcy filings seem to conflict. It appears Zeiger is currently in the process of appraising its assets according to a note in the Fixed Asset Report. In a horribly misspelled description, Zeiger claims its assets to be "moble cranes, rough terane cranes, hyrolic lift cranes and rolling stcok." Below is a snapshot from the report.

The report states that during the reporting period Steve Zeiger paid himself $20,000 (not including benefits). However the report also states that the total payroll for the reporting period was $52,503. Assuming that Zeiger filed an accurate report, according to the company's own accounting, Zieger would have paid himself 38% of the total payroll expenditure, which would have left $32,503 for 37 full time employees combined.

Another annual property tax deadline has passed in Florida, and as usual that means another big pile of delinquencies and past dues for Beyel Brothers.

Beyel's long history of delinquent property taxes continues with the passing of the April 1 deadline. Already behind over $90,000 on taxes due from 2007-2009, Beyel's failure to pay 2010 taxes on several properties by April 1 leaves the company with delinquencies and past dues totaling $264,766.33:

*Record not available online. Confirmed by the Palm Beach Assessor's office on 4/07/2011.

Collectively Beyel's late payments have cost the company tens of thousands of dollars over the years – and probably well into six figures. As just one example, below is an image from the Brevard County Tax Assessor website, showing that Beyel paid its 2009 tangible property tax – which was due April 1, 2010 – on January 11, 2011. Interest and penalties cost Beyel $3,806.78 on this one account, for one year, alone.

There are dozens of similar examples for the many parcels Beyel owns throughout Florida. Each of the past due accounts above began accruing interest on April 1, 2011, and the amounts due will increase with each passing month. Our Beyel Property page has been updated with 2010 assessments, property taxes and other information.

Zeiger Crane filed a motion to shorten the time for the hearing on the stipulation with People's United. The stipulation, detailed in the April 5 update below, will resolve many disputed issues between Zeiger and its primary creditor. Zeiger is asking the bankruptcy court to allow discussion of the motion at a hearing previously set for April 21 to discuss other bankruptcy matters.

In General Crane news, Bank Midwest has entered the fray with Hunter/Merchant and the Retteraths. The bank claims the Retteraths will still not allow them to reclaim property surrendered to the creditor by General. The equipment in question is stored at Hunter's yard in Delray Beach. Bank Midwest is seeking an order compelling the Retteraths to grant the bank access to its equipment.

The Trustee for Lewis Crane continues to dismantle the company. Recently, the bankruptcy judge granted an agreed order to release proceeds to American Bank of Texas and Frost National Bank. The proceeds come from the sale of Lewis cranes to Neremat Hong Kong, Ltd. (see updates on January 11th, 7th, 3rd, and December 6th below for more information) and are to be split 60/40 between Frost and ABT.

Beyel Brothers terminated two more loans in recent weeks – 30 loans to Beyel have been terminated so far this year. The two loans each covered a Link-Belt crane. The Beyel UCC and Collateral lists have been updated, see the Beyel Brothers Finances page.

After several extensions, Zeiger filed its mandatory Financial Schedules and Statement in Bankruptcy court late yesterday. Below is an outline of the schedules and statement with key information highlighted.

Cranewatchdog will continue to provide updates on the continuing Zeiger Crane bankruptcy. See the Zeiger bankruptcy page for more information.

After several filing extensions, Zeiger Crane Rental filed its comprehensive financial schedules in US Bankruptcy Court last night. We are processing the documents, which show that Zeiger has just $1.4 million in assets and $27.8 million in liabilities, and will post them later today.

Also filed yesterday was a proposed settlement agreement between Zeiger and its top creditor, People's United Equipment Finance. The parties are proposing to resolve a federal court case in Houston, an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court and contested motions in the bankruptcy case in the following ways:

The parties will agree that Zeiger owes People's $21.1 million (People's had filed a claim for over $24 million);

The agreement and the motion asking the court to approve it are available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy Page.

After already getting two extensions to file its comprehensive financial schedules, Zeiger Crane Rental asked the US Bankruptcy Court for an extension of "one business day" late Friday, essentially giving the debtor the weekend to complete the reports, which are expected to be filed today.

Zeiger has been making the argument that lawsuits and depositions by People's United Equipment Finance and other creditors have been distracting the debtor from focusing on the bankruptcy case, and the request for an extension makes a not-so-veiled reference to these "distractions. " In the motion, Zeiger asks for the extension "due to preparation for the numerous matters scheduled for hearing on April 5." This hearing is on Zeiger's previous motion for an injunction and temporary restraining order against some of its top creditors (see March 24 update below).

One of the creditors, Caterpillar, made new filings Friday in both the bankruptcy case and the Zeiger v. People's adversary proceeding. In the bankruptcy, Caterpillar, through its FCC Equipment Financing division, claims that Zeiger has defaulted on loans worth over $5.24 million. But unlike top creditor People's (see February 24 update), Caterpillar does not object to Zeiger's motion to use cash collateral.

Caterpillar does object to Zeiger's motion to stop its creditors from pursuing their claims outside of the bankruptcy proceeding. Caterpillar claims that Zeiger's argument that it will be distracted from the bankruptcy by other litigation "lacks credibility," and dismisses Steve Zeiger's "unsupported assertions that he may contribute personal assets that may be used to fund a non-existent reorganization plan." As reported in the March 18 update below, Steve Zeiger asserted that he "may" be a potential source of funding for the crane company's reorganization plan; several times throughout the filing Caterpillar makes the point that there is no "firm pledge" with the use of the word "may."

These and other filings from the cases are available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy page. Barring another filing delay, Zeiger's financial schedules should be posted on this site later today or tomorrow.

The February operating report for Lewis Crane was filed in Bankruptcy court this week. The trustee continues to slowly wind-down operations at the crane company. On the 1st of February all Lewis contracts were sold to Harrison Crane and all Lewis assets were turned over to creditors per a December 31, 2010 motion. Accordingly, the report shows $0 for net property, plant, & equipment (down from over $34 million) and net revenue at just over $18,000 (down from $569,194). Not surprisingly, Lewis posted a net loss for the month of over $2 million and total cash available fell to $377,443.

The Trustee for Lewis Crane filed a supplemental objection to Sierra Equipment's first and second applications for allowance of administrative claims. Sierra equipment is requesting payment for rent of equipment allegedly covered under a lease agreement with LWL Management (a Lewis company also in bankruptcy), the use of Sierra equipment stored by Lewis Crane, and alleged stolen parts. The trustee expresses serious doubts about the veracity of each claim in his objection.

After being granted an extension, Zeiger Crane is due to file its financial schedules and statements this Friday, April 1st. Cranewatchdog will provide the document for free download as soon as they are available. See the Zeiger bankruptcy page to download other documents in the bankruptcy case.

The Trustee for Lewis Crane filed a motion detailing a settlement between Lewis and City Center Land, LLC. According to the filing, Lewis Equipment and Rock Island Rigging provided services on the City Center project in Las Vegas under a subcontract with the general contractor for the project, Perini Building Company.

Lewis and the Trustee allege that the company has not been paid $1.9 million for services rendered; however, because of financial complications involving all parties on the project, litigation would be costly and time consuming. The Trustee reached out directly to City Center to reach a settlement – the agreements are set out in exhibit A and exhibit B.

The Judge in the Lewis Bankruptcy issued an order granting stay relief to Peggy Davis because "no timely response was filed." Davis was a tenant on Lewis property who was injured when she fell in a hole on the property – see February 25th update.

In General Crane news, the Retteraths continue their dispute with Allegiance Crane with a recent motion to compel Allegiance to pay rent. Palm Beach Trucking claims Allegiance owes $4,000 in rent for storing equipment in its yard for the months of January and February 2011. At the time of this update Allegiance/General Crane had yet to respond to the motion.

Finally, recent UCC filings indicate that Beyel has taken out a new loan with United Financial Group, Inc. (UFG) while CityCap Equipment Finance filed a termination UCC for its loan to Beyel. The new UFG loan covers three (3) Linkbelt crane (two crawlers and one rough terrain) and one Grove truck crane.

The sparring between Zeiger Crane and its primary creditor, People's United Equipment Finance (PUEF), is heating up. On Wednesday, March 23rd Zeiger's filed an emergency motion for a protective order, in which it claims that People's is employing a "'scorched earth' litigation strategy" in a clear attempt "to prevent the Debtors from reorganizing their businesses."

Zeiger comes to this conclusion based on People's actions in three areas: denying the use of cash collateral, the motion to appoint a trustee, and discovery requests.

Cash collateral: Zeiger complains that just 5 days after filing for bankruptcy and two days after filing a motion to use cash collateral, People's filed an objection to Zeiger's use of cash collateral. See February 24th update for more information.

Trustee appointment: Zeiger again bemoans that only 31 days after filing for chapter 11, People's filed a motion seeking the placement of a US Trustee. Zeiger claims that PUEF is aware the granting of this motion "will likely result in the liquidation of the Debtors." See March 21st update for more information.

Discovery requests: Zeiger's complaint here is multi-pronged. First, the crane company is unaware if Steve Zeiger and Mark Welch were served subpoenas to appear at a deposition. Second, at the time of filing the notice of deposition, Mark Welch had not yet been hired by Zeiger Crane – that motion is still awaiting a hearing (April 5th) and the Judge's order. Third, Zeiger objects to the volume and timing regarding the depositions, noting that the depositions are scheduled for eight and nine days after serving the notices. Zeiger's lawyer further claims these dates were set unilaterally without any input from him. The timing of the depositions and document requests conflict with April 1st deadline for Zeiger's financial schedules and statements set by the Court. See March 23rd update for more information.

Zeiger is asking the Judge to issue an order to reschedule the depositions to a time that acceptable to both parties. For a complete list of bankruptcy filings see our Zeiger Bankruptcy page.

As reported yesterday, People's United will "examine…under oath" Steve Zeiger and Mark Welch on March 29th and 30th, respectively.

As part of the notice of deposition, People's United included a request for both Zeiger and Welch to produce documents concerning the debtor's management of funds. Among the documents requested from Steve Zeiger are all documents and communications "relating to any Transfers to or for the benefit of one or more Insiders," "regarding or concerning any loans or advances made by Zeiger or any entity controlled by him," "regarding the sale by the Debtors of any inventory or equipment," and a copy "of the Debtors' cash journal(s)."

People's is also seeking all documents or communications relating to the relationship between Steve Zeiger and Dave Powel. Powel, named by People's as the captain of Zeiger's personal yacht, was allegedly on the company payroll with a $1,450 per week salary. See the March 3rd update below for more on Mr. Powel and the signing of loan documents on the yacht.

Perhaps most importantly, People's attached a list of 17 money transfers to and from account MMA 8793, between 11/30/2010 and 2/1/2011, totaling $893,675.00 for which it is asking for "all documents and communications relating to each" transfer. In its motion to appoint a trustee, People's stated it identified "approximately $900,000 in suspect transfers to and from Mr. Zeiger's personal money-market account." In the same motion, the creditor accused Zeiger of using his companies as a "personal piggy bank."

People's is requesting roughly the same set of documents from Mark Welch with the addition of documents and communications related to the budgets used in bankruptcy motions, and files and communications possessed by Welch or Morris Anderson. Visit the Zeiger Bankruptcy page for more information.

The fight between People's United and Zeiger Crane continues to heat up as Zeiger's largest creditor filed a claim for $24,322,527.58 in the crane company's Bankruptcy case on the same day that it filed a motion to appoint a trustee and just weeks after People's filed a separate lawsuit against Steven Zeiger and other affiliated companies (see March 2nd update below) in Federal Court in Houston.

In this suit, People's claims that Steven Zeiger is over $1 million past due on a dozen loans for which he signed a personal guarantee. The affiliated companies named in the complaint are not those that filed for bankruptcy, so it has not been subject to the automatic stay afforded companies in bankruptcy. Zeiger responded to this suit by filing an adversarial case against the creditor, claiming that People's aggressive stance is damaging Zeiger's efforts to navigate bankruptcy, see March 18th update.

Now People's United Equipment Finance is seeking the same amount against Zeiger Crane, Atlantic Leasing, and Dyer Road Properties. People's filed a secured claim for over $24 million with $1,344,475.09 in "arrearage and other charges." The creditor also provided a list of all the collateral it financed including a table of each crane with serial number and location. According to the creditor, cranes financed by People's are located either in Zeiger's yard or being used at about 15 jobsites, including the following:

The finance list also includes several properties and "a blanket security interest in all assets of Debtor."

People's will also be taking depositions of Steve Zeiger and Mark Welch (Chief Restructuring Officer) later this month. Visit the Zeiger Bankruptcy page for complete information.

Zeiger Crane Rental's top creditor, People's United Equipment Finance, wants a court-appointed Trustee to oversee the company. In another strongly worded filing, People's claims that it was not the "recent economic downturn" that caused the crane company to file for bankruptcy, but more likely "Steven Zeiger's malfeasance."

As with People's recent motion to deny Zeiger the use of cash collateral (see February 24, 2011 update), this filing made late Friday uses harsh language to express the creditor's dissatisfaction with Steve Zeiger: "illicit conduct," "systematic fraud and looting of the company treasury," "personal piggy bank" and "tantamount to outright theft" are among the terms found in the 16-page motion.

Among the attachments to the motion are a Transaction Detail List and a Check Register. Below is an image from Exhibit B to the motion, showing some of the items that People's is questioning:

Checks 71165-71168 are apparently payments for the yacht slip at the Jupiter Yacht Club and Marina described in our October 5, 2010 update.

People's motion also includes allegations that Zeiger improperly sold cranes to Exact Crane, Cleveland Crane and Shovel Sales and to an unnamed customer in the Bahamas. People's filing concludes with a request for a bankruptcy court appointed Trustee: "The appointment of a trustee may alter this dysfunctional dynamic by removing untrustworthy, dishonest, and incompetent management that has demonstrated an inability to act as a fiduciary to creditors."

In another development in the case, Zeiger Crane Rental has asked for a second extension of time to file its financial schedules, this time until April 1, 2011. These and other filings in the case are available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy page.

As reported on March 15 and in other previous updates, CraneWorks has entered into a significant new financing relationship with Iberia Bank. The bank recently filed a UCC amendment which allowed CraneWorks to sell equipment at the Ritchie Brothers auction held in Orlando, FL on February 15.

The UCC amendment lists over two dozen pieces of equipment, from tower cranes to mulcher head attachments. The original purchase price, and the 12/31/2010 Book Value, is provided for each piece of equipment. According to the UCC filing, CraneWorks sent $1,382,070 worth of equipment (as of 12/31/2010) to the Ritchie auction.

Reviewing the auction results on the Ritchie Brothers website, we were able to match up all but $267,455 worth of the items by comparing serial numbers and other identifying information. The $1,114,615 worth of equipment we were able to match sold for $685,100 in the auction, representing a loss of $429,515 from the Book Value from six weeks before the auction. Click here to see a chart of the items and their final sale price (hyperlinks in the chart will only work if you have a free login for the Ritchie Brothers website).

This $429,515 total loss does not count any taxes, or any commissions or administrative fees that may have been charged by Ritchie. Several items sold for more than their Book Value, but CraneWorks took big losses on the sale of their two Linden Comansa tower cranes. The cranes, a 20-ton and a 5-ton, were valued at $621,790 but sold for only $177,500. See our CraneWorks Finances page for more on the history of CraneWorks' attempt to get into the tower crane business.

The former General Crane has been conducting its own small auction. According to the website www.ironplanet.com, several mainly older cranes are for sale at the company's former headquarters in Pompano Beach, Florida. The items include a 1985 Grove RT745, a 1980 Grove HTC, and Groves from 1978 and 1979. It is unclear whether these are repossessed cranes for sale by creditors, or whether they are currently owned by General Crane and/or the Retteraths. Steve Retterath still has General Crane's former headquarters listed for sale for $7.5 million.

Finally, Beyel Brothers is hosting the inspection and training company Crane Inspection & Certification Bureau (CICB) at its Riviera Beach facility on the dates below. The Riviera Beach yard is run by Danny Beyel, and we encourage Danny to participate in this training, and any others that might be available. See the "Danny Beyel on Safety and Training" section of our Beyel Safety page to learn why.

Zeiger Crane Rental has filed a suit against its top creditor, People's United Equipment Finance Corp. As reported previously on this site, People's has taken a hard line in the Zeiger bankruptcy case (see February 24 update, Top Lender: Zeiger "Cannot be Trusted)," and has sued Steve Zeiger personally in federal court in Houston for $24 million (see March 2 and March 3 updates).

Now, Zeiger Crane Rental has hit back with a lawsuit, known as an Adversary Proceeding, within the bankruptcy case. The Complaint claims that People's and other creditors "may" be paid 100% of their secured claims in a future plan of reorganization, and that Steve Zeiger personally "is a potential source of funding for a Chapter 11 plan."

According to the complaint, if People's continues to press its claims against Steve Zeiger personally, the expense of defending himself may put in jeopardy any restructuring efforts by the crane company.

Zeiger also filed a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, asking for a stay of all litigation against Steve Zeiger and all of his companies. The motion alleges that People's claim against Zeiger is overstated, and that Zeiger owes $20.7 million, not the $24.3 million the lender has demanded. The motion claims that Steve Zeiger "is a necessary and integral part of these (reorganization) efforts and, therefore, his time and attention should be devoted for the benefit of all creditors and not just a select few."

Filings from this case will be posted in the "Adversary Proceedings" section of our Zeiger Bankruptcy page.

Citicapital Commercial Corporation, a subsidiary of Citibank, filed a Motion in US Bankruptcy Court for relief from the automatic stay provisions of the US Bankruptcy Code. Citicapital is asking for the court's permission to repossess equipment, or to collect from Zeiger Crane Rental regular monthly payments on the equipment.

According to the Motion, Citicapital financed Zeiger's purchase of a Link-Belt HTC-8690 in 2005. The lender alleges Zeiger has fallen behind on the $9,642 monthly payments for the crane, and is past due $19,766 on a loan balance of $294,272.

Citicapital has also filed a claim in the case. All creditor claims and all significant filings are available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy page. So far, 16 creditors have filed claims for $595,495 in the case.

As reported December 21, 2010, BV Oil Company, a Florida fuel and lubricant supplier, sued Beyel Brothers for $54,438 in allegedly unpaid invoices. The lawsuit, filed in Dade County Circuit Court, has been settled with Beyel agreeing to pay the full amount due in weekly installments of $1,500, in addition to purchasing a minimum $5,000 in fuel weekly from BV Oil. BV Oil has the option of requesting a Final Judgment if Beyel should fail to pay any weekly installments punctually. Documents from this case are posted on the BV Oil v. Beyel Brothers page.

In other court cases, Beyel won a large judgment against customer Pro Built over payment for a job on a Holiday Inn in Georgia, and new filings are available in cases involving a worksite fatality and a motor vehicle accident:

Beyel Brothers v. Pro Built Development - Beyel sued its customer Pro Built, alleging it was not paid for work performed at a Holiday Inn in Dalton, GA. Beyel won a judgment of $86,391 plus interest.

Miguel v. American Cutting and Drilling, Beyel, et al - The surviving family of an American Cutting worker killed at a jobsite in Palm Beach sued his employer, Beyel Brothers and other parties involved in the project. The plaintiff has filed a notice that a Beyel has been served with a settlement proposal, but the case is still pending.

Hunter v. Beyel Brothers - The husband and wife plaintiffs sued over an accident involving a hotel shuttle bus, which allegedly overturned after a collision. Beyel has filed an Answer denying the Complaint, and the parties are in the discovery process.

Summaries and filings from these and dozens of other court cases can be found on our Beyel Litigation page. Over the next few weeks, court filings and other information will be updated for Beyel customers Met-Con, United Forming, Drawdy Brothers and T&T Construction.

As reported in previous updates on March 10 and January 18, CraneWorks of Birmingham, AL has entered into what appears to be an important new banking relationship with Louisiana based Iberia Bank. Since the filing of a UCC in the last days of 2010 recording a new loan from Iberia Bank, several previous lenders have filed UCC termination notices with the Alabama Secretary of State. It appears that CraneWorks has refinanced its operations, paying off old loans with a new loan (and/or line of credit) from Iberia Bank.

In recent weeks, termination notices show that CraneWorks has effectively ended its relationship with hometown banking giant Regions Bank, and with smaller Alabama banks including Bryant Bank (one CraneWorks UCC with Regions is listed as "lapsed" by the Alabama Secretary of State, although no termination notice has been filed). Our CraneWorks Finances and UCC pages have been updated to reflect these new developments.

We have also updated all lawsuits listed as pending on our CraneWorks Litigation page. New developments in pending cases include the following:

Armstrong v. CraneWorks - The plaintiff is suing over injuries allegedly caused by a defective outrigger on a CraneWorks-owned crane which caused "severe and permanent injury." According to the complaint, the outrigger's safety switch and on/off switch were defective or disabled.

Roberts v. CraneWorks - The plaintiff is suing over injuries allegedly suffered in a September 2009 multi-vehicle accident in Mobile, AL. The plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed his complaint against other defendants, but the case against CraneWorks continues, with a trial set for October 2011.

Also updated is the list of small claims cases on the CraneWorks Litigation page. A few cases have been resolved, and two new cases have been added to the "Other Business Debt" list.

Some CraneWatchdog.com readers may be interested in a new website sponsored by the International Union of Operating Engineers, http://www.casinoleaks.com.

CasinoLeaks.com covers an organizing and bargaining campaign involving over 1,000 stationary engineers at MGM Resorts International owned casino-hotels in Las Vegas. The site features information on each of the MGM properties on the Las Vegas strip, as well as details on MGM's Chinese partner for its joint venture gaming operation in Macau, China.

Readers attending ConExpo in Las Vegas this month may wish to keep an eye on CasinoLeaks.com for news about potential rallies and other activities.

CraneWatchdog.com will continue its coverage of the Southern crane rental industry. In the coming months, more Florida companies will be added, and coverage will be extended to Georgia and Tennessee.

Beyel Brothers has executed another Consent Order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In this latest enforcement action, Beyel agrees to pay $9,836 in fines for several hazardous waste violations at its former facilities on Cox Road in Cocoa. As with the Consent Order reached on penalties of $30,283 for Beyel's Merritt Island yard, Beyel can offset some of the costs by implementing a Department-approved pollution prevention program.

Emails between the state DEP and Beyel attorney Rory Ryan show the parties negotiating the final terms of the settlement. In a January 24, 2011 email, Ryan states that Beyel is preparing its old yards for sale or lease. Beyel moved to a new headquarters in Cocoa in late 2010.

In one email exchange, a state DEP employee urges Ryan to return his comments on a draft Consent Order, saying she "would like to get this one finalized a(s) soon as we can to avoid any undue attention." The exact meaning of this comment is unclear, but it may refer to the two months it took for the parties to finalize the agreement.

Copies of the email exchanges of November 2010 and January 2011 are available. As previously reported, Beyel still faces an open enforcement case at its Riviera Beach yard over groundwater contamination issues.

CraneWorks has apparently given up on getting into the tower crane business, eight years after first purchasing two Terex-Peiner SK415s, and later buying two 2006 Linden-Comansas. The Terex-Peniers have not been seen in years, and the Comansas were sold at the Ritchie Brothers auction in Orlando last month.

Although the equipment listed for auction by Ritchie Brothers rarely names the seller, a newly filed UCC Amendment lists several pieces of equipment sent by CraneWorks to the Ritchie auction. Among these are a 2006 Linden-Comansa 20-ton and a 2006 Linden-Comansa 5-ton, which match exactly the only two Comansas sold at the Orlando auction. Registered users of Ritchie's website can view the auction results by clicking here (registration is free).

The new UCC filing modifies a major new loan issued by Iberia Bank (see January 18, 2011 Update below). In the UCC Amendment, the bank allowed CraneWorks to send its collateral to the Ritchie auction.

Multiple sources in the Birmingham area report that these tower cranes were used infrequently, if at all. For at least the past several years boom from the towers sat in a storage lot south of CraneWorks headquarters. See the "Before and After" photos below, taken from the same spot by CraneWatchdog.com personnel first in December 2009 and then late last month.

Ironically, the tower crane had been gathering dust in a lot owned by a partnership that CraneWorks owners David and Steven Upton named "Tower Lot 1 LLC."

Creditors have begun filing claims in the Zeiger Crane Rental bankruptcy case. The filings so far range from a $98,987 claim by fuel supplier Palmdale Oil Company to a $704 claim by the town of Windermere, FL, which alleges that a Zeiger driver caused damages when he failed to negotiate a traffic circle.

Claims in the Zeiger bankruptcy are now available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy page. New filings uploaded to the bankruptcy page include the following:

Claims and filings from the bankruptcy court will continue to be posted on the Zeiger Bankruptcy page. Documents from the $24 million lawsuit filed against Steven Zeiger personally are posted on the People's United v. Steven Zeiger page.

Two lawsuits related to Beyel Brother's marine division have been updated, with new filings available for download (coincidentally, both cases involve the same Beyel tugboat):

Florida Department of Transportation v. Beyel Brothers – The Florida DOT sued Beyel for allegedly causing $190,799 in damage to a bridge over the Amelia River in Nassau County, FL. According to the complaint, the Beyel tug Gus Henrich collided with the bridge. The state further alleged that Beyel was guilty of "negligent hiring and retention," as the same tugboat captain had been involved in another collision and a grounding in the two years prior to the accident. The parties reached a settlement in the case.

Keenan v. Beyel Brothers - A maritime employee, formerly a deckhand and engineer on the Beyel vessel Gus Henrich, sued alleging he sustained injuries in separate incidents in May and July 2010 while working aboard the Beyel tugboat. The plaintiff alleged that Beyel "delayed, failed and/or refused to pay Plaintiff's entire maintenance and cure benefits" and prematurely required him to return to work following his injuries in May, thus causing his further injuries in July. Beyel Brothers has filed an answer denying the plaintiff's claims, and the parties have selected a mediator.

Also, on March 1, 2011 Beyel finally paid the 2008 property taxes for its yard in Ft. Pierce. According to St. Lucie County property records, with penalties and interest Beyel paid $8,678.89 for taxes originally billed at $6,553.60.

Beyel's total delinquent taxes are now $90,282.40 for yards in three Florida counties. See our Beyel Property page for details.

Beyel Customer Met-Con Updated:
New Information on Federal Criminal Conviction,
Litigation, Finances, More

Our profile of Beyel Brothers customer Met-Con, a steel fabrication and erection company based in Cocoa, FL, has been updated with new information in the following sections:

See the full profile of Met-Con for updated information in these and other sections. A future Met-Con update will have more lawsuits, OSHA records and other information. Other Beyel customer profiles will be updated in the weeks ahead.

Our People's United v. Steven Zeiger page now includes the extensive exhibits to the complaint, a $24 million demand for payment over allegedly defaulted mortgages and loans for crane purchases.

The 23 exhibits include mortgages, loans, promissory notes, extensions and loan restructuring agreements between Zeiger Crane Rental and its top creditor. The documents show Steven Zeiger personally guaranteeing the loans. Most of the loans were originally issued by Financial Federal Credit, which was subsequently acquired by People's United Bank.

Interestingly, some of the earlier loans were executed in unusual places. Several loans were signed at an Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia, SC – it is unclear why Steven Zeiger would have been required to travel from Florida to South Carolina to sign the documents. But even stranger, other loans were executed on a ship at sea, with the address listed as "Off International Waters Aboard Vessel." See the image below as one example:

As reported in the February 23, 2011 update below, Allegiance Crane and Equipment and Jason and Steven Retterath are still sparring over Allegiance assets stored at Hunter Crane's yard in Delray, FL. According to a new Response and Reasserted Motion, Allegiance asks that the Retterath's recent Motion for Clarification be denied, and that Allegiance be allowed to retrieve its assets from the Hunter Crane yard.

Attached to the Response and Motion are 60 pages of correspondence between attorneys for Allegiance and the Retteraths. The correspondence, primarily emails, shows a continuous back-and-forth between the attorneys over the long holiday weekend of February 18-21.

According to the emails, when Allegiance and the Retteraths finally came close to a general agreement on the arrangements for picking up the assets, a new dispute arose over an inspection of the assets prior to the retrieval. The Retteraths objected to the specific individuals that Allegiance wanted to send to the Hunter yard, and also said they would allow Allegiance to take photos but not video. As the proposed retrieval date (February 22) approached and the parties still could not resolve their disagreements, the Retteraths' attorney filed the Motion to Clarify the judge's order.

In its Response, Allegiance asserts that it has acquiesced to many of the demands and conditions made by the Retteraths, but they continue to make unreasonable demands. Allegiance also claims that "certain assets have been removed from the Delray Beach Premises by the Retterath Parties."

As reported in the February 23 and February 15 updates below, we have received tips that Allegiance assets (or assets belonging to creditors of the former General Crane) may be stored at the Retterath's Merchant Transport yard, and/or at the precast yard for Miami Metrorail's Orange Line project. Allegiance's filing does not name any specific locations where the company believes its assets are being held.

Zeiger Crane Rental's top creditor, People's United Equipment Finance, filed a lawsuit against Steven Zeiger and affiliated companies Zeiger Investments and B-Z Steel Erection in US District Court in Houston, Texas.

According to the complaint, Steven Zeiger and the affiliated companies personally guaranteed 12 separate loans covering crane purchases and property mortgages originally issued from 2006 to 2008. The loans have been modified and restructured several times according to the complaint.

People's alleges that Zeiger is $1.2 million past due on the 12 loans, and is demanding the full principal balance of the loans, $24,322,527.58. People's, which has taken a hard line in Zeiger Crane Rental's bankruptcy case (see February 24, 2011 Update below), also asks for 18% interest and attorney and court costs.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Houston (home of Financial Federal Credit, which issued the original loans and was acquired by People's United Bank) and at this time is not subject to a stay due to the bankruptcy proceedings. People's suit does not name as defendants the Zeiger entities which have filed for bankruptcy -- Zeiger Crane Rental, Atlantic Leasing and Dyer Road Properties.

Filed with the complaint are voluminous exhibits, including copies of loan agreements and modifications. These documents, consisting of hundreds of pages, are being processed and will be available on our new People's v. Steven Zeiger case page.

Although most major issues in the bankruptcy case have been resolved, the federal bankruptcy court in Dallas continues to wind down the operations of Lewis Equipment. A Monthly Operating Report for January 2011 shows a further diminishing of the estate's assets.

According to the report, Lewis had $575,453 in Total Cash at the end of January, which was actually a slight increase over the previous month, but still far below the $6.7 million in cash in August 2009. Lewis' Total Current Assets were down to $6,485,361, from $8.1 million two months ago and $14.3 million last August.

Lewis narrowed its Net Loss for the month, from almost $1 million in December 2010 to just over a half-million dollars in January, but still suffered a total Net Loss of $2.5 million for the most recent quarter. Payroll plummeted from $466,752 in December to $183,360 in January. The estate still has a Total Tax Liability of $727,066.

To date, Lewis Equipment has paid just under $2 million to various professionals working on the bankruptcy case. The highest paid professional is the law firm Munsch Hardt (misspelled in the report) at $687,531. Munsch Hardt are the attorneys for US Bankruptcy Trustee Scott Seidel (Seidel's own firm has been paid $225,973).

New Tax Return Shows Children's of Birmingham Awarded $2 Million in Executive Bonuses

A newly available tax return for Children's Hospital of Birmingham, AL, shows that the non-profit hospital awarded its ten highest paid employees (five corporate officers and five pediatricians) over $2 million in bonuses in 2009. Over $1.5 million of these bonuses went to three pediatricians who collectively have taken home around $10 million in total compensation in the past three years.

The 2009 IRS Form 990 for Children's (non-profit tax returns usually require one year of processing time before they are publicly released) shows that the hospital enjoyed huge increases in revenues in 2009. Children's also received hundreds of millions in taxpayer-backed bond money and private donations to finance a new hospital. But, as previously reported, Children's cut the amount of charity care it provides nearly in half in that same year.

Children's is constructing a new facility at a cost approaching a half-billion dollars. CraneWorks, a company that undercuts area standards for wages and benefits by at least $8-$10 per hour, contributes exactly nothing to worker's retirement and offers a healthcare plan too expensive for many workers, has had cranes and smaller RentalWorks equipment on the project since the beginning. Meanwhile, non-profit Children's Hospital awarded approximately $7 million in total pay and benefits to its top ten employees in 2009.

Children's CEO Mike Warren, a former utility company executive who left his old job with $70 million in deferred compensation, stock and pension benefits, refused to even meet with local labor leaders to discuss the situation. Despite receiving over $250 million in tax incentives and taxpayer-backed bonds from local governments, Mike Warren has failed to ensure that his contractors do not undercut area standards. Mike Warren instead enables CraneWorks majority owner David Upton and others in the local construction industry to engage in a race to the bottom that undercuts living standards for the entire Birmingham community.

Kyle Lewis filed a motion to dismiss US Bankruptcy Trustee Scott Seidel's Second Amended Complaint in the Adversary case Seidel v. Lewis. Kyle Lewis alleges there are several deficiencies in the Trustee's complaint, and that the complaint improperly "asserts a litany of new and irrelevant allegations against Lewis" (see the February 2, 2011 Update below for details on the Trustee's complaint).

Among other objections, Kyle Lewis asserts that the Trustee failed to include key information, such as the exact date that Lewis Equipment entered a "zone of insolvency," despite a court order requiring this information. Kyle Lewis alleges that "six months after Trustee filed his Original Complaint, Trustee still has not provided a viable complaint," and that this new complaint is an "obvious attempt to disparage Lewis."

In the main Lewis Equipment bankruptcy case, the Trustee, Kyle Lewis and other interested parties reached a settlement in a dispute over Kyle Lewis' personal property at Lewis headquarters. According to the agreed order approved by the court, Kyle Lewis will take possession of the following items:

The order allows Kyle Lewis to enter Lewis Equipment's headquarters at 10:00 AM on March 31, 2011 to retrieve these items. See the December 23, 2010 Update below for more on the personal property dispute (it appears Kyle does not get the Lion Dog statues).

Zeiger Crane Rental's top creditor, People's United Equipment Finance, has filed a strong objection to Zeiger's motion to use cash collateral in its ongoing business operations.

People's details the long lending history between the bank and Zeiger, which began in 2006 (before People's took over Financial Federal Credit, which made the original loans). Over the next few years, People's made several loans, loan extensions and loan modifications with Zeiger, until the crane company allegedly defaulted on the loans in January 2011.

The objection by People's appears to show some animosity between lender and debtor, with language that is at times almost mocking and sarcastic:

In the filing, Peoples also claims that Zeiger's outstanding loan balance is actually $24,322,527.58, not the $20,700,000 Zeiger listed in a motion filed on the first day of the case.

One day before Zeiger Crane Rental filed for bankruptcy, insurance company Lloyd's of London sued Zeiger in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. According to the complaint, Lloyd's claims to have paid out around $1.4 million "to defend and/or settle three claims or suits on behalf of Zeiger." Lloyd's alleges that Zeiger had failed to pay the deductibles required by its insurance policies.

The Lloyd's dispute appears to result in part from an accident in which a Zeiger crane allegedly knocked a worker off a roof. This accident led to two lawsuits featured on our site, Palacio v. Zeiger and North Pointe Casualty Insurance v. Zeiger.

Details on this case are available on our new Lloyd's v. Zeiger page. However, it is likely that this suit, and other pending suits against Zeiger, will be stayed during the bankruptcy proceedings. Cases listed on our Zeiger Litigation page will be updated as new information is released.

In another Palm Beach case, Wells Fargo voluntarily dismissed its repossession suit against Zeiger on February 15, three days before the bankruptcy filing. No reason for this action is given in the filing, and bankruptcy filings indicate that Zeiger still has an outstanding loan balance of a $4.9 million with Wells Fargo.

Details on the bankruptcy case and copies of filings are available on our Zeiger Bankruptcy page.

With the filing of the Meeting of Creditors Notice in the Zeiger Crane Rental bankruptcy case, most of the important deadlines in the case have been set. These deadlines include:

It is not uncommon in bankruptcy cases for the debtor to receive court approval for extensions in filing the financial schedules, Plan and Disclosure Statement (General Crane won extra time to make these filings in its bankruptcy case). The meeting of creditors, and the July 7 deadline for creditors to file claims, are unlikely to be changed.

Our Zeiger Bankruptcy Page will include all new filings in the case. Major developments will be announced in Latest Updates, which are emailed to subscribers as they are posted (click here to sign up).

Despite a court order allowing Allegiance Crane and Bank Midwest to retrieve assets from a Hunter Crane yard with 48 hours' notice, attorneys for Jim Robertson, Bank Midwest and Jason and Steven Retterath sparred all weekend over the fine points of the order. Now, the parties are having trouble scheduling an emergency hearing over the matter.

According to a Motion for Clarification of the court order, the Retteraths and the companies they own (Merchant Transport and Hunter Crane) are not trying "to prevent Allegiance or anyone else from retrieving their assets, nor are they doing so to make money or cause trouble. The reason for doing so is because the landowner's concerns for liability and damage. (The Retteraths) have essentially been accused of stealing Allegiance and Bank Midwest's property and do not want to be accused of wrongdoing anymore."

The Retteraths allege that the retrieval of assets will not be a simple task – it will require a 100-ton crane and 50 trucks working for five days. The Retteraths are concerned about liability, insurance and code enforcement issues.

According to the motion, and the attached correspondence among attorneys for the various parties, Allegiance notified the Retteraths on February 18 of their intention to remove the assets. There followed offers and counteroffers among the parties, with the Retteraths requesting a $20,000 security deposit, and offering to use Hunter Crane to load the equipment onto Allegiance's trucks, for which it would bill "at cost."

Apparently the attorneys could not reach an agreement, and an emergency hearing on the matter was scheduled for Thursday, February 24. But some of the attorneys involved have scheduling conflicts that day (including Allegiance attorney Michael Seese, who is also representing Zeiger Crane Rental in their bankruptcy and must attend a hearing in the Zeiger case Thursday). The parties are now requesting a hearing March 2, 3 or 4.

This dispute has focused only on Allegiance and Bank Midwest assets held at the Hunter Crane yard in Delray, FL. No reference is made to tower crane sections stored at the Merchant Transport yard in West Palm Beach, FL, which sources have reported are also assets owned by Allegiance Crane. Click the picture below for more photos of tower crane parts at the Merchant yard taken yesterday, February 22:

CraneWatchdog.com has launched a Zeiger Bankruptcy Page which will include case filings available for download and key data from the case.

As previously reported, Zeiger Crane Rental filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 18. Also filing bankruptcy petitions were Zeiger affiliates Atlantic Leasing and Dyer Road Properties. The parties have moved to have these three cases jointly administered.

Zeiger has also filed a Motion to use Cash Collateral which includes projected weekly operating budgets covering the next 13 weeks.

Zeiger Crane Rental filed for bankruptcy today in US Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach, FL.

In a bare-bones petition filed earlier today, Zeiger lists only broad ranges of assets and liabilities. Zeiger affiliate Atlantic Leasing also filed for bankruptcy.

Zeiger has retained Michael Seese of the firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, the same attorney who has represented General Crane through its bankruptcy case.

As reported yesterday, immigration raids at an Orlando area federal project led to an afternoon demonstration by veterans and union members at the jobsite. Brasfield & Gorrie, and other contractors at

the VA Medical Center job in Lake Nona, FL, gave workers a half day off yesterday in anticipation of the rally. Perhaps more accurately, US taxpayers paid for a half day of no work on the massive, $665 million project.

What was referred to in media accounts as a "rally" was in reality more of a press conference, with several veterans and labor leaders delivering statements protesting the hiring practices at the hospital project. According to the Orlando Sentinel, "about 50 veterans, union workers and their supporters" attended the event. Yet the contractors on the project attempted to preempt the protest, sending hundreds of workers home at noon. None of the media accounts reviewed so far provides any quotes from any federal officials on this decision.

In a statement, general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie said it let workers take the afternoon off with pay because of the rally "to minimize the potential for accidents resulting from the extra traffic and congestion." We have been unable to locate any cost estimates for this half day shutdown.

Yesterday's event was covered by many Orlando area news outlets. One of the more interesting accounts came from Fox TV Channel 35's focus on unemployed veterans in Central Florida.

CraneWatchdog.com personnel took photos of workers leaving the jobsite at lunchtime, and of the rally at the deserted federal project a few hours later. Click HERE to see the photos.

Still images from a webcam on the project show the jam packed parking lot on a more typical day, when taxpayers are actually getting some work done for their money.

Brasfield & Gorrie, the Alabama-based construction giant, has been named in an Orlando, FL Police Department report on an immigration raid at the massive VA Medical Center project in Lake Nona, FL.

According to various media accounts and the police report we obtained, state and federal officials conducted an immigration related raid on the project on Wednesday, February 9. Later that same day, Orlando police received an anonymous tip about the specific hiding place of illegal workers who had evaded the earlier search.

The Orlando police report details the second raid. According to the report, the anonymous caller was "concerned for the hidden subjects because they did not have access to food or water and the area was very poorly ventilated." The caller claimed "one of the senior managers for Brasfield and Gorrie was on the construction site and helped to hide the subjects while ICE and the State Insurance Fraud Agency were conducting their investigation."

With the assistance of workers on the site, the Orlando police were able to locate six people hiding in scaffolding on the fifth floor of a building. According to the police, the six must have had the assistance of others, as the hiding place was "approximately thirty feet long by ten feet wide and eighteen inches in depth. Additionally, given the manner in which the subjects were hidden, someone would have had to assisted in concealing them, due to the fact the scaffolding had to be moved from the outside utilizing a fork-lift. This also meant the subjects were unable to escape their hiding spots without being assisted from the outside, again utilizing a fork-lift."

Brasfield & Gorrie is one of the largest construction companies in the US, and is working on several major projects throughout the Southeast. The company is a major customer of CraneWorks in Alabama. Beyel Brothers has worked on the VA Medical Center site, but it is unclear whether Beyel is working for Brasfield & Gorrie or one of the many subcontractors on the site. The new VA hospital is a $665 million project scheduled to be completed in late 2012.

Media coverage, including video of the raids, is available on the websites of several news outlets:

Outraged US Senator Bill Nelson of Florida gives an interview about the raid on the website of TV station Central Florida News 13.

In a breaking development, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the jobsite is shutting down today in anticipation of a protest by "union workers and veterans." Any further developments will be posted in future Latest Updates.

In recent days both Caterpillar and Wells Fargo have gained court orders allowing them to move forward in their attempt to repossess Zeiger cranes, trucks and other equipment.

In the case Caterpillar v. Zeiger, the plaintiff filed a motion alleging that Zeiger Crane Rental owes, as of January 17, 2011, over $6 million for three cranes and five trucks. Caterpillar asked the court for a Writ of Replevin (order for repossession), and asked for an expedited hearing on the following basis:

Caterpillar's motion was granted, and a hearing has been scheduled February 18 in Palm Beach County Court.

Similarly, in the case Wells Fargo v. Zeiger, an Order to Show Cause has been issued against defendants Zeiger Crane Rental, Atlantic Leasing, Steven Zeiger and Nancy Zeiger. A hearing has been scheduled in this case for March 3.

Allegiance Crane and Bank Midwest have joined General Crane in its efforts against the Retteraths. Both filed Joinders on February 14, agreeing with the allegations by General Crane against Jason and Steven Retterath.

Allegiance Crane and Bank Midwest asked the Court to force the Retteraths to comply with the approved Plan of Liquidation (POL). Allegiance claims "Jason Retterath's actions continue to interfere with Allegiance's use and enjoyment of the Sale Assets," referring to equipment sold to Allegiance by General according to the POL. Bank Midwest repeated General's assertions that the Retteraths moved equipment to Miami, Florida to use on a project and that access to the equipment has not been granted.

Sources tell us that the equipment in question is the tower crane below, which is being used by Hunter and Merchant at the precast yard for Miami Metrorail's Orange Line project:

A hearing on this issue is scheduled for 1:30 PM today. In essence, General, Allegiance and Bank Midwest claim that the Retteraths are improperly retaining and even using Allegiance's assets; the Retteraths counter that Allegiance merely needs to make arrangements to pick up any of its assets that may be stored at their yard in Delray, FL. For more details see the updates February 15th and 8th below.

Jason and Steven Retterath, Palm Beach Trucking d/b/a Merchant Transport, and Royal Crane d/b/a Hunter Crane filed a response to General Crane's earlier motion to enforce compliance with the Plan of Liquidation. In this earlier motion, General claimed that the Retteraths and entities owned by them are withholding access to, and using, equipment stored on their property.

"There is no emergency here," the Retteraths' response claims despite there being an emergency hearing today (2/15) at 1:30 pm. In response to the specific allegations, the Retteraths also claim that all equipment stored at the Delray Beach yard remain there and have not been used. They further claim that any interested parties can arrange to have access to the equipment but that so far none have made any such attempt.

The Retteraths also continued the back-and-forth mudslinging by claiming that General has withheld paychecks owed to Jason Retterath, refused to allow Jason to remove personal items from General's Pompano Beach office, and refused to pay administrative expenses related to the storage of equipment (the same equipment at the center of this motion) at the Delray Beach yard. See February 8th update below for background information.

These issues will be addressed at the Emergency Hearing today, February 15, at 1:30. Cranewatchdog will continue to report on this matter as information becomes available.

General Files Motion to Transfer Work Contracts to Allegiance; Lloyd's Complaint Dismissed

In another step towards its transformation into Allegiance, General Crane filed a motion seeking to transfer its customer contracts to Allegiance Crane. The document claims that as per the Asset Purchase Agreement, certain equipment has been sold to Allegiance and that the agreement provides that certain contracts are to be transferred as well. Attachment A provides a redacted list of the contracts General wants to assign Allegiance.

In an unrelated event, but equally beneficial to General, a judge has dismissed the complaint from Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's for lack of jurisdiction, just one day after it was filed in US District Court. The judge ruled that Lloyd's is considered a citizen of any state "in which each of its members is a citizen" but because the insurance company does not provide information on its members, the judge cannot determine whether the District Court is the proper venue. Lloyd's has until February 24th to file an amended complaint or the case will be closed.

The Palm Beach County Court has released the exhibits to the complaint in the Wells Fargo Equipment Finance v. Zeiger Crane Rental repossession case filed one week ago. According to the newly released documents, Wells Fargo seeks to repossess three Manitowoc 999 crawlers (and 999 boom components), one Link Belt HTC, and one Link Belt RTC.

As previously reported, Wells Fargo alleges that Zeiger has defaulted on $5.2 million in loans. The complaint was filed against Zeiger Crane Rental, Atlantic Leasing, Steven Zeiger and Nancy Zeiger.

Exhibits 1-11 (32 pages) – Includes the Master Security Agreement, UCCs, and various Schedules of Indebtedness showing loan amounts and monthly payment schedules.

Exhibits 12-16 (37 pages) – Includes more loan documents. On page 9 of 37 begins correspondence dated December 27, 2010 declaring the loans in default, and Wells Fargo's decision to "accelerate the maturity of the entire unpaid balance" of the loans. Also, according to an affidavit filed as the last exhibit (page 35 of 37), a Wells Fargo risk specialist alleges that "one item of Plaintiff's collateral, which had been moved to the Bahamas by the Defendants, was sold out of trust by Defendants to a third party."

Further filings in this case will be posted on our Wells Fargo v. Zeiger page. Zeiger is also facing a repo suit by Caterpillar, and new filings in this case will be available next week.

As the former owners of General Crane try to move forward, there are still issues to be resolved in bankruptcy court. On February 9, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's filed a suit in the District Court of Southern Florida against General regarding insurance payments in the Rinkus liability settlement.. Lloyd's claims that the policy taken out by Gulfstream does not cover any bodily injury suffered during the course of employment or duties related to the business of the insured.

Eric Rinkus filed a suit against General Crane claiming he was forced to work in dangerous conditions, which resulted in a load hitting him and causing serious bodily injury – see the Rinkus case page for complete background information. Rinkus filed a claim in General's bankruptcy case; both parties agreed to let the state case proceed. In a preemptive strike, Lloyd's is asking the court to rule that the insurance coverage provided by Lloyd's to General does not cover the Rinkus injury. Lloyd's is not objecting to the settlement itself. Should the court rule in Lloyd's favor and the Rinkus case result in a monetary award, Lloyd's would not be obligated to pay because the injury is outside the policy's scope.

This comes a few days after Jim Robertson filed a motion against Jason and Steven Retterath for unlawfully holding a crane and an insurance policy refund check – see February 8th update below. A hearing to discuss the motion is scheduled for Tuesday.

Despite these few setbacks, Robertson continues to establish Allegiance Crane, successor company to General. The company has recently launched a new Facebook page and is also planning a marketing event and party in March.

Jason and Steve Retterath are focusing on Hunter Crane and Merchant Transport, even purchasing their largest crane yet. A Demag Terex AC 700 crane was purchased personally by Steven Retterath. The reported purchase price was over $4 million.

Zeiger Crane Rental, already facing a repo suit filed by Caterpillar, was sued by Wells Fargo in Palm Beach County Court on Friday. Wells Fargo asks for $5.2 million from the defendants Zeiger Crane, Atlantic Leasing (an affiliated company controlled by Steven Zeiger), and Steven and Nancy Zeiger. Nancy Zeiger is a former co-owner of the company.

According to the complaint, the defendants have defaulted on $5.2 million in loans. These loans were originally issued in 2007 by CIT Group Equipment Financing, and later assigned to Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, Inc. The complaint makes reference to extensive exhibits, but these documents have not yet been released by the court. Wells Fargo has asked for a court order to repossess equipment, but the exact equipment is not listed in the documents processed by the court so far. CraneWatchdog.com will post these exhibits when they are available.

This new suit is the latest in a series of troubling developments for Zeiger. Since mid-2010, Zeiger has eliminated the employee 401k Plan (see January 28, 2011 Update below), and emptied and rented out nearly one-third of its yard (see January 24, 2011 Update below) in addition to facing the Caterpillar litigation.

Zeiger was even sued in Small Claims Court by supplier Total Truck Parts recently over $4,736 in allegedly past due invoices. But the parties apparently reached a settlement agreement, as the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the suit just three weeks later.

The fight between former partners Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath continues despite the dismissal of an earlier adversary case. Yesterday, General Crane filed a motion asking the judge to force Jason and Steve Retterath to comply with the approved Plan of Liquidation.

The motion claims that as principals of Royal Crane d/b/a Hunter Crane, the Retteraths are violating and interfering with General's Plan of Liquidation --the Retteraths have control over equipment either sold to Allegiance Crane or abandoned to Bank Midwest and have not allowed either access to that equipment. The equipment is listed at the bottom of page 2. General asserts that a portion of the equipment has been sent to Miami to work on a job and another portion of the equipment is located at the Royal Crane yard.

General asks that "these parties' flagrant disregard for orders of the Court should not be tolerated" and also asks the court for "an order enforcing the Plan and Confirmation Order."

The motion also re-hashes old disputes between the two parties. First among these is the adversary case over refunded insurance premiums. Also mentioned is Jason Retterath's motion to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee, application for administrative expenses, and objection to General's Plan of Liquidation – see updates on January 12th, December 10th, November 5th, October 19th, and October 7th.

In the last few days of January there was a flow of financial activity involving Beyel Brothers and Zeiger Crane – both companies were the subject of several UCCs. A total of nine (9) UCC terminations were filed for Beyel Brothers' loans, and four (4) continuations were filed for Zeiger loans by People's United Equipment Finance.

For Beyel Brothers, this is the second round of UCC terminations in January. During the first week, 27 UCC filings were recorded against Beyel (24 of them terminations), see January 14th update below. This new grouping brings Beyel's total to 36 just in the first month of 2011.

At the beginning of this year, Beyel executed a large new loan with GE Capital, which covers "all goods, equipment, general intangibles and other property of the debtor." At the same time Beyel is terminating a large number of loans with other banks and financiers, which cover a range of collateral from cranes and trailers to boats. These latest termination UCCs were filed by CityCap Equipment Finance, Suntrust Bank, and 1st Source Bank.

Zeiger was again able to receive loan continuations from People's United, four were filed late in January. This comes at the heels of Zeiger's recently implemented cost saving measures of renting out one-third of its headquarters property and eliminating its 401k plan (see updates on January 24th and 28th). Each continuation filing is equivalent to a 5 year extension on the related loan.

These four continuations are the first of 2011 for Zeiger; however, including last year the total equals 21 continuations filed for Zeiger loans – four of these have been extended twice. Of the 60 plus UCC filings against Zeiger in 2010 and the first month of 2011, nearly one-third of them are 5 year extensions and each of them covers a loan from People's United Equipment. As mentioned above, four loans from People's United have been extended 10 years past their original due date.

Visit the Beyel and Zeiger Finance pages to view updated collateral and UCC lists.

Beyel Brothers, which has a long history of property tax delinquency, owes $98,899.67 in delinquent property taxes to four Florida counties, for tax bills stretching back as far as 2007. Since our coverage of Beyel Brothers began in November 2009, the company's total delinquency amount has reached as much as $144,000. Last month, Beyel finally paid off the 2009 taxes on its headquarters tangible property. Beyel made installment payments on this previously delinquent account, eventually paying $51,980.82, which included $3,806.78 in interest and penalties. But Beyel's total delinquency amount is increasing again, as interest and penalties accumulate with each passing month. The chart below shows the current delinquencies for four Beyel yards:

Also, Beyel's chief financial officer, Mark Beyel, has been hit with another tax deed for delinquent property taxes, this one for $17,634.53. As previously reported (see the November 9, 2010 update in our Archives), Mark Beyel was already facing a tax deed for $7,571.74 for another Cocoa property. As explained in our archived update, it is unclear whether these properties are personal or company holdings.

Except for accounts on installments plans, county property taxes for 2010 are due throughout Florida by March 31. The delinquency amounts above include only taxes through 2009. CraneWatchdog.com will update Beyel's delinquency amount, if any, after the 2010 taxes due date.

Another strongly-worded filing has been made in the adversary proceeding Seidel v. Lewis, an offshoot of the Lewis Equipment bankruptcy case. Bankruptcy Trustee Scott Seidel has filed a Second Amended Complaint against Kyle Lewis, alleging that he and his companies based in Australia and New Zealand misappropriated or are otherwise indebted $15,000,000 to the Lewis Equipment estate.

The 30-page complaint includes a long list of allegations against Kyle Lewis, and covers a time period beginning over one year before Lewis Equipment filed for bankruptcy protection. According to the complaint, Kyle Lewis helped bring about the bankruptcy filing because of his:

After the December 2009 bankruptcy filing, the Trustee alleges, Lewis lost credibility with lenders and other creditors by failing to properly account for their collateral and for firing for a second time an employee who "had creditability with the lenders."

Beginning on Page 11 of the Amended Complaint, the Trustee lists 25 specific alleged misdeeds by Kyle Lewis, most involving the improper transfer of Lewis Equipment's money, assets or equipment to his personal possession, or to his companies in Australia and New Zealand. The Trustee asks the court for an order requiring Lewis to return all transferred property, punitive damages and other remedies. The defendants have not yet filed an Answer to the new complaint. CraneWatchdog.com will update this case as new filings are made.

On Friday, January 28, the bankruptcy judge issued an order granting Frost Bank's motion to apportion certain taxes against Lewis Crane equipment. Creditors will pay a percentage of the taxes based on the proportion of asset value for which they hold secured claims. Payments are due on or before January 31st; upon payment creditors will be released from all liens, claims, and liabilities.

Frost Bank and the US Trustee originally requested this arrangement because the Debtor's estate, Lewis Crane, did not have the funds to pay the full tax amount. See January 20th update below for complete background information.

The Trustee has agreed to pay Wachovia's share of the taxes. According to Wachovia's objection, Wachovia was granted a relief from stay and would have repossessed all of its equipment before 2010 had the Trustee not insisted on retaining a few units into 2010; therefore, the Trustee is responsible for taxes on Wachovia's equipment. People's Capital and Leasing, despite its claims, will pay, per an agreement with the tax authorities, over $40,000.

Once all the taxes have been satisfied, the taxing authorities are barred from further collection against the collateral detailed in the order. This will bring the Trustee one step closer to final resolution of the Lewis Bankruptcy.

Allegiance Crane, reportedly facing a deadline from a county zoning office, moved equipment to its new headquarters with an assist from Zeiger Crane Rental.

We received tips over the weekend that Allegiance had been ordered to reduce the height of boom stacked in the former General Crane yard by today, and was making a hurried move to its new headquarters. CraneWatchdog.com personnel visited the former General headquarters in Pompano Beach, FL, and were surprised to spot four Zeiger trucks on site, being loaded with boom and other equipment. Sources in both companies have reported that Allegiance was short on trucks due to other work commitments, and had to hire Zeiger to assist with the move. Click on the photo below for more pictures taken Saturday, January 29, 2011.

Steve Retterath, founder of General Crane and later its landlord, has put the headquarters lot up for sale for $7.5 million. Listings for the 7.82 acre facility are online here and here. Retterath originally purchased the property in 1979, and in 2007 refinanced with a $13,140,000 mortgage which also included the yards for Merchant Transport and Hunter Crane. See our November 22, 2010 update for more on this mortgage, and on disputes over rent between Retterath and General Crane.

The lot for sale does not include the adjacent Parkridge Mobile Homes lot owned by Republic Enterprises, LLC. Florida corporate records currently show that Jim Robertson and Jason Retterath remain partners in Republic Enterprises, but the public record may not reflect the true ownership of the property. Robertson resigned from all other partnerships involving the Retteraths in 2010.

The issue of 2010 business personal property (BPP) taxes remains a problem for the Lewis Crane estate and it's Trustee. This week the Trustee filed an emergency motion asking for permission to use funds from the estate of Hardrock Road Properties, also under his stewardship, to pay the remaining BPP taxes.

On January 13th, Frost National Bank and the Trustee jointly filed a motion to compel the apportionment and payment of these BPP taxes – see January 20 update below – to which several Lewis creditors agreed. According to the Trustee's latest motion, the equipment remains at risk of being seized by Texas tax authorities because several creditors have not agreed to pay. This motion would allow the Trustee to use funds from Hardrock to cover the portion of Lewis taxes not paid by creditors; in return, the Trustee would gain the tax authorities' "claims and rights."

According to the Trustee, the resulting picture would look like this: the Trustee and a few creditors would pay the taxes due on equipment, thereby satisfying the taxing authorities and allowing creditors to take possession of their equipment. The estate of Hardrock Road Properties would not be damaged because of its close connection and overlapping creditors with Lewis Crane. Finally, the Trustee would acquire the tax claims over the creditors that did not pay, so as not to cause loss to the Lewis estate.

Thus far General Electric, Caterpillar, Wachovia, and People's Capital and Leasing have filed objections with the bankruptcy court. GE, Caterpillar, and Wachovia each claim the taxes are an administrative expense for which the Trustee is responsible, not individual creditors. People's Capital claims their financed equipment was either not in Texas or already returned to People's before 2010.

A hearing on the original Frost/Trustee motion is January 28th; a hearing on this latest motion has not yet been set.

A newly released filing from the US Department of Labor shows that Zeiger Crane Rental has eliminated its already meager 401k plan for employees. Zeiger's retirement plan was "non-contributory" – DOL records since 2004 show that Zeiger has not contributed a dime to the employee retirement plan. Now Zeiger has dropped the plan outright, apparently saving the company the cost of administering the plan, which Zeiger reported as $1,473 in 2009.

According to the new filing, a Form 5500 Annual Report, this is the "final return/report" for the 401k plan. In 2010 the plan paid out $67,095 to its 53 participants. This amount represents the entire assets held by the plan less some administrative expenses. On average the payout is just $1,266 per participant, and Zeiger employees are left with no employer-sponsored retirement plan.

See our For Zeiger Workers page for more details and a history of Zeiger's retirement plan.

In contrast to the substandard wages and benefits paid to Zeiger Crane's operators, if there were an Area Standards survey of Florida crane company owners, Steven Zeiger would likely be at the high end of the scale. The most recent salary information located for Steven Zeiger, disclosed in a March 2009 Palm Beach County court filing, showed that he received a salary of $624,000 per year, or $52,000 per month. By comparison, bankruptcy and litigation documents show that the co-owners of General Crane, which was a much larger company than Zeiger, made approximately $70,000 less than Zeiger did in 2009.

Zeiger dropping the 401k plan is just the latest in a series of developments at the company in the past few months. See the following previous updates for more:

Zeiger Crane Rental is in the process of reducing their West Palm Beach crane yard by nearly one-third, leasing part of the property to Airgas, a gas and equipment distributor.

Photos taken early last week by CraneWatchdog.com personnel show that a large portion of Zeiger's yard has been emptied out. One Link-Belt crawler remains in the lot, but this crane was reportedly used to move Zeiger's equipment out. Later last week, workers were spotted patching the pavement in the empty lot. An outbuilding previously used by Zeiger has been emptied out, with a sign on the door directing visitors around the corner to Zeiger's main entrance. This building presumably will be Airgas' office.

Click the photo below to see a slideshow of photos taken January 17 and January 20:

The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's office provides the satellite photo of Zeiger's yard below, taken around one year ago. The parcel Zeiger is renting out to Airgas is on the right, outlined in red. Zeiger will presumably continue to operate out of the two parcels to the left, outlined in green. The Appraiser photo shows that the now-empty lot was full of cranes, boom and equipment:

Also, a Notice of Commencement filed in December in Palm Beach County for this parcel lists the property owner as "Airgas/Steve Zeiger Dyer Road Property LLC."

Zeiger was recently sued by Caterpillar Financial, which is seeking to repossess several cranes. Other current litigation involving Zeiger will be featured in coming updates.

Proceedings in the Lewis bankruptcy have been moving "at a rather furious clip during the last week;" however, a few issues remain to be worked out.

Lewis Crane financer Frost Bank and the US Trustee have filed a motion seeking to compel secured lenders to pay taxes on business personal property. Though most creditors have obtained relief from stay and some have sold repossessed equipment, taxes are still owed on business equipment in several counties for 2010 and 2009. The Trustee claims the Debtor lacks enough funds to pay those taxes. Each creditor is to pay taxes on equipment in which they hold interest, on a pro rata basis, in order to prevent tax authorities from seizing equipment. Creditors have until January 31st to pay the business personal property taxes in order to obtain a release on the equipment. Wachovia objects to this motion claiming that neither the Trustee nor Frost bank has any legal standing to force payment.

The dispute regarding alleged personal property of Kyle Lewis continues with opposition from Frost , PNC Equipment Finance, Caterpillar, and the US Trustee. The objections from Lewis Crane's creditors highlight Lewis' suspect behavior throughout the bankruptcy process – most point to instances in which Kyle Lewis allegedly attempted to divert assets away from his failing company for his own personal gain – and ask that Lewis be forced to provide strict proof of ownership. The Trustee's objection states that Lewis has not yet provided the necessary proof.

Cranewatchdog will continue to report on Lewis proceedings, check our latest updates for more information.

Two tower cranes formerly belonging to General Crane have appeared on the website of heavy equipment auctioneers Ritchie Bros, both are Linden-Comansa tower cranes, serial numbers 14422 and