Care home blocks sale by filing for bankruptcy

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Wahiawa care home for seniors this week filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to block a foreclosure sale of the 32-bed facility to one of the company's creditors.

Lakeview Home Inc. attorney Gary Dubin said the filing stemmed from a city property tax delinquency two years ago that gave Lakeview's mortgage holder, Bank of Hawaii, reason to declare the mortgage in default and foreclose on the facility.

A court-appointed receiver has been operating the home since last March. The bankruptcy filing is not expected to affect operations.

Sale of the property for $725,000 was approved last week to a company set up by the mother of Lakeview's president, Arlene Alquero. Had the sale gone through, Alquero and her husband, a medical doctor, would still have been liable for a $475,000 deficiency judgment owed the bank.

Lakeview listed debts of $1.4 million, and assets of $2.5 million. Bank of Hawaii is the company's largest secured creditor with a $1.2 million claim. Alquero and her husband are unsecured creditors who extended $91,000 in credit to the company. Alquero's mother extended $150,000 in credit to Lakeview and is the company's largest unsecured creditor.

Dubin said Lakeview fell behind on paying property taxes in late 2000 and worked out a payment plan with the city, but the bank treated the missed property tax payments as cause for default on its mortgage and demanded the $1.2 million loan be paid off at once.