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Fewer than a dozen of J.T. Turner’s more than 100 creditors turned out for the first creditors’ meeting for the Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy petition the longtime Savannah builder filed last month.
Turner, for nearly 40 years one of the Savannah area’s best-known names in high-end homebuilding and historic renovation, shuttered J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc. in March, leaving projects unfinished and subcontractors unpaid.
On April 9, Turner filed for bankruptcy, listing personal assets of just more than $2 million and liabilities — most of them business-related — of $19.2 million.
Chapter 7, also referred to as liquidation bankruptcy, is designed for debtors in financial difficulty who don’t have the means to pay their existing debts.
The petition named Turner alone as the debtor, with neither his wife Shirley nor their son J.T. “Tripp” Turner III listed on the filing, despite the fact the latter had been deeply involved in the business.
James L. Drake Jr., trustee for U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Georgia, questioned Turner under oath about his petition, confirming dates and figures and clarifying other information before opening the floor to creditors’ questions.
Among the clarifications requested by Drake was the wide discrepancy between the appraised
value of personal property listed in the petition and the value Turner gave his insurance company.
In his filing, Turner listed artwork, jewelry and collectibles at around $2,000. However, Drake pointed out, Turner had insured the same property for $370,000.
Turner testified the $2,000 figure represented the liquidation value of the assets as determined by Craig Arcos at Bull Street Auctions. He also said the insurance evaluation included an extensive baseball memorabilia collection owned by his son, Tripp.
“I was carrying it on my insurance for him,” he said.
“Still,” Drake said, “This is obviously a pretty wide variance. Is anybody holding property that belongs to you?”
Turner said no.
Questioned about the seven entities with which he has been connected in the last six years, Turner said he held sole ownership in five of those — J.T. Turner Construction Co. Inc., J.T. Turner Custom Homes Inc., J.T. Turner Investments, Turner Ansley Development and the Eppley Co. — and holds 87 percent ownership in Hannah Holdings, a real estate holding company.
Each of these is listed as worth no money, Turner said, “as debt far exceeds the value in each.”
The seventh company, J.T. Turner Construction Co. of Savannah, which Turner incorporated in 2010, is owned solely by his son, Tripp, and is not part of the filing, he said.
The current status of that company is unclear.
Asked if he had an interest in any other entities, Turner said no.
Turner told Drake his creditor list was complete, adding that the original filing had been amended to include Vos Electric, Hutson Plumbing, Nancy Frazier and Savannah Magazine.
Turner said he is living on his wife’s monthly Social Security check, supplemented by funds from his 401(k). He lists his monthly expenses at $9,205, including payments of $500 and $600 for two automobiles. Asked why the cars weren’t listed in personal property, Turner said the payments were anticipated for the purchase or lease of the cars.
Turner is driving a Lincoln Navigator owned by his primary construction company but said that vehicle will be turned in.
A creditor asked about a donation to Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, which at $48,797 made up the lion’s share of Turner’s $53,000 in listed gifts and donations. Turner responded that it was his tithe.
Another creditor asked if, as stated, Turner took a distribution of $30,000 and a salary of $70,000 in January and February and incurred household expenses of around $9,000 per month, where was the cash he should have had on hand?
Drake asked Turner if, in the last two years, he had transferred any money or property to family members or business partners. He also asked whether anything had been sold to his son or business partners. Turner responded no to both questions.