Several creditors of Commerce Corp. filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the Maryland-based distributor of lawn and garden supplies, the Baltimore Sun reported today. In the petition filed last week, five creditors claim they are owed a combined $1.73 million from the Curtis Bay distributor and want it placed in a chapter 7 liquidation. Commerce, founded by CEO Richard Lessans' family in the 1920s, has been under financial stress, and early last month notified the state it was laying off up to 70 employees.
