U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Shon Hastings in Fargo, N.D., approved a mediated settlement among major secured creditors in the McM Inc. farm bankruptcy on Thursday, divvying up the $9.1 million in cash to be paid out by today, the West Fargo Pioneer reported. The Dec. 28 settlement allows 14 cents on the dollar, overall, but only for secured creditors — nothing so far for unsecured creditors, such as workers or laborers. On Feb. 10, McM Inc., a St. Thomas, N.D., farm, filed chapter 7 bankruptcy, which requires liquidation. In September, the company's owner, Ronald G. McMartin Jr., filed personal bankruptcy, also in Fargo. McM was one of the region's largest high-value crop farms, controlling some 40,000 acres in 2016, producing potatoes, edible beans and corn. Total claims are nearly $64 million, of which $48 million are secured. BMO Harris Bank has a $43 million claim but will receive about $4.9 million from this settlement.The farm at times produced about $20 million in gross annual revenue. Trustee Erik Ahlgren, a Fergus Falls, Minn., lawyer, has accumulated nearly $9.1 million in crop proceeds for the escrow account.
