Unpaid bills leave developers vulnerable

Even the smallest creditors are now pressing claims against financially shaky developers, and are increasingly trying to force them into bankruptcy. Andrew Scott, the owner of a security consulting company in Boca Raton, recently joined other creditors in pursuing the $8,400 debt he said he was owed by the developer of a local office building, the Courthouse Commons. The project was also facing a $30 million foreclosure suit filed by Great Florida Bank, and instead of waiting in line, Scott’s group forced the developer into involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While it can be a good strategy for creditors desperate to recover some money, it also poses risks and can backfire, says Craig Kelley, the attorney for three of Courthouse Commons’s creditors. [GlobeSt]