A court-assigned receiver will oversee liquidation of Sun Badger Solar, a Waukesha company that shut down in January
A court-assigned receiver will oversee the liquidation of the remaining assets of Sun Badger Solar, a Waukesha company that ceased operations in January leaving dozens of customers with unstarted or partially completed projects for which they'd paid large deposits.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel last week approved Sun Badger owners Trevor Sumner and Christopher Sipes' petition to assign Milwaukee attorney John Wirth as the receiver.
Receivership is a court-supervised alternative to bankruptcy in which a civil court appoints or assigns an independent party to oversee a company's dissolution, reorganization or sale.
In the case of Sun Badger, that will mean liquidation of the company's limited assets and disbursement of some of the proceeds to the company's former Waukesha landlord, court documents state.
The documents do not mention any compensation for contractors and suppliers who have won civil judgments against the company or for dozens of customers who lost their deposits or were left with incomplete projects.
More: Sun Badger Solar complaints: customers paid nearly $1 million for work that was never done
Creditors must file claims with the court within the next three months.
Neither Wirth nor Sumner responded to requests for comment.
According to court documents, Sun Badger still has solar panels and other equipment in storage at its former offices and workspace on Pewaukee Road in Waukesha and possibly in Bloomington, Minnesota. The condition of those panels and whether they're still in storage is unclear, Wirth wrote in the May 30 petition for receivership.
In that document, Wirth said the landlords "would like their space back," but there is no money to move the panels and other equipment short of selling them at auction.
"Receiver believes, however, that the proceeds of the auction will be more than sufficient to pay the landlords for the fair rental value of their space" during the time between Wirth's appointment and the auction.
Since Sun Badger ceased operations, more than 120 customers have filed complaints against the company with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer affairs. Some complained of incomplete installations, but the majority claimed that no work had been done after they paid deposits that ranged from about $10,000 to more than $80,000.
Customers who complained about lost down payments all signed contracts in 2022, a time when rising interest rates ended the availability of lending rates that had been below 1%. With less generous lending terms available, many Sun Badger customers opted for the company's offer of a discount if they prepaid half of the installation cost.
Dozens of other customers have also filed complaints of theft by fraud against the company with local law enforcement. In April, the Dane County Sheriff's office announced it would launch a criminal fraud investigaton in response to five complaints by county residents.
Separately, five contractors and suppliers have won court judgements against the company for unpaid bills.
That auction will be conducted by Gerlach Companies, an auction house based in Hartland.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sun Badger Solar headed for liquidation after judge approves receiver
