So much for the bankruptcy filing of Boston Market owner Jay Pandya.
A U.S. bankruptcy court judge this week dismissed the personal bankruptcy filing of Pandya and his wife, Mital, who had sought federal debt protection last month.
The dismissal came at the request of a U.S. bankruptcy trustee. The trustee said Pandya had not provided insurance information on two properties he owned. They also said Pandya had not responded to repeated requests for that information over a two-week period.
The dismissal adds to the uncertainty over the future of Boston Market, which has closed as many as 200 locations this year, mostly due to evictions from landlords over unpaid bills.
The company has been sued at least 140 times over the past three and a half years, since Pandya acquired the chain from Sun Capital Partners. Most of the lawsuits are over unpaid bills, from employees, landlords and various contractors.
The biggest lawsuit is from US Foods, which has accused Boston Market of refusing to pay bills for food distribution. The distributor is asking a judge to award it nearly $12 million in that case.
In his bankruptcy filing, Pandya said he was not the sole owner of any business. But the filing also cited some of his business debts, including a $10 million US Foods liability.
Boston Market on Wednesday sent out a release announcing plans to allow people to add the company’s name and menu to an existing business without any buy-in requirements or franchise fees.
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