Legal & Courts  February 4, 2022

Bankruptcy judge converts gun club bankruptcy to Chapter 7, business locks its doors

LOVELAND — A U.S. Bankruptcy judge on Feb. 1 converted the Front Range Gun Club bankruptcy case from Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation, and as a result, the gun club at 697 N. Denver Ave., Suite 128, has locked its doors.

A notice on the business website said the business is “closed pursuant to court order.” 

The Front Range Gun Club, which is a trade name for Gunsmoke LLC, and the owner of the property, Happy Beavers LLC, have been in the throes of bankruptcy since May 2020, when they received a notice of foreclosure and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July of that year. 

SPONSORED CONTENT

Solar Operations and Maintenance for Commercial Properties

One key qualification to consider when selecting a solar partner to install your system is whether they have an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) or service department. Since solar is a long-term asset with an expected lifecycle of 30 plus years, ongoing O&M should be considered up front. A trusted O&M partner will maximize your system’s energy output and therefor the return on your investment.

The bankruptcy is actually in two parts, one involving the real property and the other involving the operating business, all involving the same creditors. 

Each of the cases resulted in well over 300 filings in bankruptcy court, as well as an unrelated lawsuit in which the gun club filed a lawsuit against its former owners — Angry Beavers LLC, Edward J. Klen and Stephen J. Klen, also creditors in the bankruptcy — in September 2020. The lawsuit, not yet resolved, claimed fraud, negligent representation, false representation, non-disclosure or concealment and other allegations against the former owners of the gun club when the new owners bought the business and property.

Bankruptcy judge Joseph G. Rosania Jr. wrote in his court order that the counsel for the United States Trustee, Alison Goldenberg, “commented she had rarely seen a case accompanied by so much acrimony between the parties.”

Over the course of the bankruptcy proceedings, numerous motions for extensions of deadlines were filed to permit negotiations between the parties or to permit the debtors to file amended reorganization plans. 

The judge acknowledged that “the debtor’s members [Richard Weingarten and Chee Wei Fong] concede that they no longer wish to operate the business…” He further said, “the court has lost confidence in the debtor’s ability to reorganize.” 

Since the operating business Front Range Gun Club was losing money, according to profit and loss disclosures, and creditor Great Western Bank noted that there is “no equity in property of the estate over and above its secured claim,” the bankruptcy court determined that moving to Chapter 7 would be in the best interests of the parties.

A meeting of creditors is set for March 3. 

A message left with the gun club’s owner Weingarten, seeking information about personal property that club members have in the facility, did not result in a returned call. 

The cases in United States Bankruptcy Court are In re: Gunsmoke LLC, case number 20-14962, and In re: Happy Beavers LLC, case number 20-14853.

LOVELAND — A U.S. Bankruptcy judge on Feb. 1 converted the Front Range Gun Club bankruptcy case from Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation, and as a result, the gun club at 697 N. Denver Ave., Suite 128, has locked its doors.

A notice on the business website said the business is “closed pursuant to court order.” 

The Front Range Gun Club, which is a trade name for Gunsmoke LLC, and the owner of the property, Happy Beavers LLC, have been in the throes of bankruptcy since May 2020, when they received a notice of foreclosure and filed for…

Ken Amundson
Ken Amundson is managing editor of BizWest. He has lived in Loveland and reported on issues in the region since 1987. Prior to Colorado, he reported and edited for news organizations in Minnesota and Iowa. He's a parent of two and grandparent of four, all of whom make their homes on the Front Range. A news junkie at heart, he also enjoys competitive sports, especially the Rapids.
Sign up for BizWest Daily Alerts