Judge Orders Smith’s To Cease Operations

After closing all its stores in Washington and scaling back operations elsewhere, Smith’s Home Furnishings still couldn’t pay its bills.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Elizabeth Perris ordered Smith’s Thursday to close all its stores because the company could not pay utility bills and was not meeting sales goals outlined in its bankruptcy plan.

Smith’s Home Furnishings filed for protection from creditors Aug. 22 under the federal bankruptcy code and had been operating under conditional approval from the court.

“The reality is you just can’t keep going at 55 percent of projected sales,” Perris said at the hearing.

Smith’s failure to pay about $43,000 in utility bills due Thursday triggered the court hearing.

Smith’s chief executive officer Glenn Grodem said the chain will try to come up with a new plan to keep open its stores. If it cannot come up with a proposal to satisfy the court and creditors, the company would presumably be liquidated.

The furniture liquidation sale under way at the Smith’s stores in Spokane will not be affected by the latest developments.

, DataTimes