Lindsey Case Lingers

Even though Fayetteville developer John David Lindsey was discharged from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in April, one creditor is still pursuing him for more than half a million dollars.

Trans Lease Inc. of Denver has appealed U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Ben Barry’s April ruling that the $554,216 Lindsey owed to Trans Lease could be discharged.

Trans Lease had argued the debt should stand. It accused Lindsey of filing a false financial statement with the intent to deceive or mislead Trans Lease into extending credit so that he could lease 18 dump trucks in 2008.

That financial statement, according to Trans Lease, showed income of $3.5 million and expenses of $95,000, the lawsuit said. A copy of the financial statement, on a First Security Bank form, listed Lindsey’s net worth in excess of $77 million, including assets of $120 million and liabilities of almost $43 million. Barry ruled that Lindsey’s financial statement was false but there was no intent to deceive.

“The financial statement contains a number of errors and omissions, which with relatively little effort in review would have reflected a different financial picture of Lindsey,” Barry wrote in his April order.

Barry also said that Trans Lease missed a number of red flags with the statement, including the name. It was listed as “John David Lindsey,” “John David Lindsey Dev LLC.” Barry said it was unclear what part of the financial statement was for Lindsey and which was for his company.

“Trans Lease failed to carry its burden by preponderance of the evidence as to the elements of intent to deceive,” Barry wrote in his order.

Lindsey filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in February 2010. He listed debts of nearly $170 million, with more than $100 million owed to Arkansas banks. He reported assets of less than $10 million.