Tulsa Club building pulled from auction
BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
8/29/12 at 7:20 AM
The Tulsa Club saga just won't end.
Set to be sold at a sheriff's auction Tuesday, the building was pulled from the list of available properties after a newly created company that owns it filed bankruptcy in Carson City, Nev.
"They filed the bankruptcy simply to avoid the sale, bottom line," City Attorney Bob Edmiston said. "The LLC was created on Aug. 24, so we will proceed to pursue all of our remedies, including getting the bankruptcy dismissed."
California businessman C.J. Morony had transferred the title of the building to the LLC before the bankruptcy filing, Edmiston said.
"It's creative on his part," Edmiston said. "We've all been wondering if something would happen" before the sale.
Tuesday's twist was the latest in a legal battle between the city and Morony going back to 2007, when the building was declared a nuisance after a rash of code violations.
Once a favorite haunt for Tulsa's movers and shakers, the Tulsa Club building - now vacant at 115 E. Fifth St. - opened in 1925 to provide facilities for the Tulsa Club and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.
The city took Morony to court in 2008, and last year Tulsa County District Judge Rebecca Nightingale entered a final order granting judgment to the city and other lienholders.
The city filed to sell the building last month after multiple code violations went unaddressed and remedial civil penalties, improvement district assessments and interest went unpaid.
The bill for the property has reached $463,000.
Morony's attorney, David Dryer, said Tuesday that he has heard from parties interested in buying the building.
"There's a lot of people who would like to purchase it, but there wasn't enough time to talk to everybody," Dryer said. "We are entertaining offers."
Edmiston said he has heard that story before.
"I have been contacted and I have talked with Mr. Dryer," Edmiston said. "I have heard that he has proposed several schemes, and none of them have come to fruition."
Morony also owns the Sinclair Building at 6 E. Fifth St. He owes the city approximately $150,000 in unpaid Tulsa Stadium Improvement District assessments on that structure.
The city has sued to foreclose on the liens on the delinquent assessments.
But Dryer said Tuesday that he hopes to work out a payment plan with the city.
Edmiston doesn't sound optimistic about that prospect.
"He (Dryer) has suggested proposals that have never worked out," Edmiston said, referring to both the Tulsa Club and the Sinclair Building.
Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
The long-vacant Tulsa Club building was scheduled to be sold at a sheriff's auction Tuesday but a bankruptcy filing by its owner, a newly created LLC, froze the asset. Californian C.J. Morony had transferred the deed to the LLC, City Attorney Bob Edmiston said, adding, "It's creative on his part." KT KING/for the Tulsa World
The owner of the Tulsa Club building owes the city $463,000 related to remedial civil penalties, improvement district assessments and unpaid interest, city officials say. KT KING/Tulsa World
|
