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LEWISTON — Peter Bolduc Jr., who owns and operates Harvest Hill Farms in Mechanic Falls, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy of the Route 26 land and buildings, all of which are owned by his company, Andover Covered Bridge LLC.
According to Bolduc, his farm operation is a tenant of the limited liability company and is not included in the bankruptcy filing. “Harvest Hill operates at several locations,” he said, and continues to be in business.
Nineteen creditors are named in the bankruptcy petition. Among the largest claims are three people who have filed personal injury claims against Bolduc as a result of an accident on the Gauntlet haunted hayride trail last fall.
The other creditors include lawyers in Maine and New York representing clients who are owed money by Bolduc, the town of Mechanic Falls, employees of the farm, and operations of the farm itself, including Farm House Pizza. Also listed is a wholesale lamp dealer in Amityville, N.Y.
Pumpkin Land, which Bolduc operates at the farm as a separate company and which is incorporated under the name October 22, is also named as a creditor.
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition was filed in U.S. District Court last week, allowing Bolduc time to restructure his finances and stay in business.
According to the bankruptcy petition, Bolduc estimates the debt of Andover Covered Bridge at between $1 million and $10 million.
The company’s main office is at 66 Milliken St. in Portland, as is the office for Pumpkin Land.
On Monday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court issued an order for Bolduc, who is being represented by Portland lawyer Steven Cope, to comply with the court’s rules. According to the order, Bolduc failed to file half a dozen schedules listing his assets and liabilities, failed to file a statement of the company’s current financial affairs, and failed to file a statement disclosing compensation being paid to his attorney, all of which are required to be included with the bankruptcy petition.
If Bolduc does not comply with the court’s order by Thursday, the case will be dismissed.
Last month, Maine’s Bureau of Corporations issued warning letters to Andover Covered Bridge and October 22 that they were not in “good standing” with the Secretary of State’s Office and may be dissolved unless Bolduc appoints a new registered agent for each. Lewiston lawyer Shawn Bell, the agent who had been registered with Andover Covered Bridge and October 22 since each was incorporated in 2008, resigned on June 5, according to state records.
Bolduc has until early August to appoint a new clerk for his companies or the secretary of state will dissolve the businesses.
The Andover Covered Bridge holdings included in the bankruptcy petition for Chapter 11 protection are the pizza restaurant at the farm, which has an assessed value of $132,000, and a building known as “The Cottage,” assessed at $88,800. The petition also includes the land and all of the remaining buildings at the property, including the ice cream and apple crisp stand, structures and property making up the Gauntlet haunted hayride, the petting farm and the farm’s playland, the collection of which is assessed at $1.2 million.
According to the Mechanic Falls assessing office, the town’s claim against Bolduc’s company that appears on the bankruptcy petition is for unpaid personal property taxes of nearly $9,200. If those taxes are not paid by June 16, the town will place a lien on the property, according to a town official.
If the case proceeds, the first meeting of creditors will be held Aug. 6 at the bankruptcy court. Creditors not already named on the petition have until Nov. 4 to file a claim against Andover Covered Bridge.
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