The car dealer once known as “Mr. Big Volume” tapped Birmingham law firm Burr & Forman as its lead bankruptcy counsel.
Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. hired Burr partners Derek F. Meek , Marc P. Solomon and Robert B. Rubin of Birmingham, Ala. as lead counsel on its Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Bill Heard, which had billed itself in advertising as “Mr. Big Volume,” closed all 14 of its dealerships nationwide on Wednesday. Bill Heard, which focused on sales of Chevrolet vehicles, operated four dealerships in metro Atlanta, including Bill Heard Chevrolet of Union City, Ga. and Tom Jumper Chevrolet on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.
That focus on Chevy products proved to be a lead factor in the dealer’s downfall. Founded in 1919 in Columbus, Ga., where the company continued to maintain its headquarters, Bill Heard grew to become one of the largest Chevy dealers in the U.S. At its peak, the company generated $2.5 billion in yearly sales, according to a court filing.
However, the Chevy product line, which focused on gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, led to sharply decreased demand amid record-high fuel prices, Bill Heard said in court filings. Banks’ sharp cutbacks in consumer financing also played a significant role in the sales declines. Bill Heard said that earlier this year, it was losing as much as $5 million per month.
Bill Heard filed its petition on Sunday. In the coming days, scores of attorneys will file notices with the bankruptcy court on behalf of creditors and other interested parties. Among the creditors are the State of Georgia, which Bill Heard estimated it owes about $770,000 in sales taxes; the states of Nevada and Texas, sites of large Bill Heard dealerships and also owed back taxes; and Cox Radio and Clear Channel, broadcasting companies that are presumably owed money on for unpaid bills for advertising.
In addition to the Burr attorneys, Hatcher Stubbs Land Hollis & Rothschild partner J. Barrington Vaught of Columbus said he is longtime outside counsel to Bill Heard and continues to represent the company.
Stichter, Riedel, Blain & Prosser partner Edward J. Peterson III of Tampa, Fla., was hired as Bill Heard’s conflicts counsel.
GMAC LLC hired Lightfoot, Franklin & White partner Sara A. Ford in Birmingham and Adorno & Yoss partner Charles M. Tatelbaum in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. as bankruptcy counsel. GMAC had provided financing to acquire vehicles for a majority of Bill Heard’s dealerships. Bill Heard Enterprises filed a motion to hire GMAC to provide post-petition financing of $6.7 million.
Troutman Sanders partner Jeffrey W. Kelley is representing Columbus Bank & Trust Co., one of Bill Heard’s pre-petition lenders, according to Bill Heard’s certificate of service filed with the bankruptcy court on Monday morning. Holland & Knight partner James H. Rollins is representing BMW Financial Services, which had provided lending for Bill Heard to acquire vehicles for its dealer lots.