Heard founded the company using an inheritance from an uncle. In 1932, he began his long association with Chevrolet when he bought out a competing dealership. Bill Heard Jr. joined the business in 1958 after attending Auburn University and a stint in the United States Navy. The younger Heard took over the company in 1961 when his father died.
Bill Heard Chevrolet in Sugar Land did stay in business, as of September 25, 2008. Warranties at closed dealerships remained valid at other Chevrolet dealerships. The company attributed the closures to the rising price of fuel and an inventory overly focused on heavy trucks and SUVS during an economic slowdown.
Bill Heard Enterprises began in 1919 as the William T. Heard Motor Company, where Bill Heard Sr. sold LaSalle, Essex and Hudson cars from a showroom in downtown Columbus. Heard founded the company using an inheritance from an uncle.
In 2007, the Heard chain represented $2.1 billion revenue, much of which came from the sale of new GM products. That year, however, its dealerships began to post significant monthly losses as the domestic auto market faced a downturn. In 2008, dealerships posted monthly losses that ranged from $2 to $5 million.
Bill Heard Jr., 70, a hard-living club owner whose Childe Harold restaurant and saloon near Dupont Circle became a regional hot spot for rock, country, blues and jazz during his reign there from 1967 to 1984, died June 7 at a hospital in Indianapolis. He had emphysema and pneumonia. Mr.
It abruptly ceased operations on September 24, 2008, as a result of the ongoing troubles in the subprime lending markets and slower car sales. At the closure, there were 13 dealerships in the Heard chain, plus one that had closed two weeks prior.
The 13 locations are in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. On Sept 29, Heard filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection blaming a 'perfect storm' that included fuel price increases and the Chevrolet product mix of trucks and SUVs.
McCluskey Chevrolet is the #1 volume new car dealer in the world! (based on 2019 and year-to-date 2020 sales). A Cincinnati, Ohio franchised dealership, located in the Kings Automall with over 450 employees.
No suitable bid came. To represent it in the bankruptcy, Bill Heard Enterprises hired attorney Edward Peterson, who on Oct. 8, 2008, demanded payment on the notes.
One is Bill Heard Enterprises, once a multi-state car dealership that dominated the Chevrolet market before its 2008 bankruptcy, and the other is the defunct law firm Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis and Rothschild, which dissolved in 2015.
According to a defense filing, Bill Heard Enterprises lost $90 million between Jan. 1 and Sept. 28, 2008, the day it declared bankruptcy. Attorney M. Elizabeth O’Neill, who represents Hatcher Stubbs, said the dealership by then owed between $500 million and $1 billion to around 1,000 to 5,000 creditors. At the time, the dealership hoped to pay ...
William Heard III, son of the dealership’s last owner William Heard Jr. and grandson of its founder, is suing both Hatcher Stubbs and attorney J. Barrington Vaught, who was a partner in the firm and long represented the Heard family. The son claims Vaught and the firm committed malpractice born of a conflict of interest ...
This worked as long as business was good. Bill Heard Enterprises did not demand payment on the notes in 2006 or 2007. Then a recession hit, and the business foundered in debt.
Bankruptcy. On April 15, 2009. Bill Heard Enterprises again demanded payment on the notes, and Bill Heard III instructed Vaught to pay nothing. On April 21, 2008, he ended his relationship with Vaught, but did not then name a successor trustee.
Bill Heard III began asking Vaught about other options in March 2009. On April 10, 2009, he hired Lanigan as his attorney. Meanwhile Vaught in the spring of 2009 persuaded Edward Heard to cash in his insurance policies to satisfy the debt. Edward Heard later sued Vaught and Hatcher Stubbs.
Heard claimed the closures affected around 2,700 employees. It had five dealerships in Georgia, and six in other states including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. Bill Heard Chevrolet in Sugar Land did stay in business, as of September 25, 2008.
In 2007, the Heard chain represented $2.1 billion revenue, much of which came from the sale of new GM products. That year, however, its dealerships began to post significant monthly losses as the domestic auto market faced a downturn. In 2008, dealerships posted monthly losses that ranged from $2 to $5 million.
13 (2008) Products. Automobiles. Brands. Chevrolet. Revenue. $2.13 billion (2007) Bill Heard Enterprises was a company based in Columbus, Georgia. Founded in 1919, it operated a group of automobile dealerships, primarily in the Southern United States.
It abruptly ceased operations on September 24, 2008, as a result of the ongoing troubles in ...
Bill Heard Jr. joined the business in 1958 after attending Auburn University and a stint in the United States Navy. The younger Heard took over the company in 1961 when his father died. Heard Jr. undertook a massive expansion beyond its home state in the 1980s.
1919-1957: Beginnings. Bill Heard Enterprises began in 1919 as the William T. Heard Motor Company, where Bill Heard Sr. sold LaSalle, Essex and Hudson cars from a showroom in downtown Columbus. Heard founded the company using an inheritance from an uncle.
On September 28, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in Decatur, Alabama. Debtors included BMW, J.P. Morgan Chase and GMAC (now Ally Financial ), for debts of around $229 million. The company listed both debt and assets of $500 million to $1 billion.