The lawsuit alleged EF Hutton took out a $4.6 million mortgage in November 2018 on EF Hutton Tower, 1 Main St. and, the lawsuit says, failed to make payments.
A Clark County judge ruled on the lawsuit last month.
Hutn, Inc. purchased and moved into the building in late 2016. The move came with the promise of more than 400 new jobs and many city and business leaders believed the company would help rejuvenate downtown. However, after several failed attempts to get into the mobile phone, social media, cryptocurrency and the online trading industries, the company announced it was halting operations.
Clark County Common Pleas Judge Douglas Rastatter ruled in favor of PS Funding.
“Upon consideration thereof, the court finds the motion well taken and orders that the plaintiff is entitled to a judgment and decree of foreclosure as a matter of law and the plaintiff’s motion for judgment on the pleads is hereby granted,” an order by Rastatter says. “The court finds on the evidence adduced that there is due the plaintiff on the commercial promissory not set forth in the first count of the complaint, the principal balance of $4,656,000 plus interests of 18%….”
The order also says EF Hutton owes PS Funding late fees.
“The court finds that there is no just reason either legal or equitable for delay in entering judgment for the plaintiff,” the order says.
The order said EF Hutton had three days to pay off the $4.6 million debt or the property should be foreclosed on and sold. There are no records that indicate the debt was paid.
PS Funding has not publicly said they want to sell the property, but in court filings they did indicate that’s the plan. They requested the court to order EF Hutton to unlock the building so that officials could do a walk-through to figure out the best way to sell it.
The judge said once the property is sold, the money shall go first to the court to pay for any court costs, then to the Clark County Treasurer to pay back taxes, then to the plaintiff to pay what is owed on the mortgage and then the rest of the money is to be filed with court pending further orders.
The Springfield News-Sun reached out to lawyers for EF Hutton and PS Funding and a message sent to PS Funding’s general email, but they were not returned.
About the Author