A Houston light-fixtures manufacturer that took in $33.3 million in revenue last year has filed for bankruptcy, saying its search for buyers has been derailed by a lawsuit from former employees, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Executives who put XtraLight Manufacturing Ltd. into bankruptcy protection on Wednesday said that the company has spent a large amount of money fighting a $12 million lawsuit from employees who worked on a Boston water utility project. Nearly 30 employees who helped install automatic water-meter-reading systems sued the manufacturer in 2016 for unpaid wages. XtraLight has denied wrongdoing. The potential claim for wages and damages is a large figure compared to XtraLight Manufacturing’s overall value. Its lighting division, which began looking for buyers last year, is worth an estimated $18 million, owner Jerry Caroom said in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Legal fees from the dispute cost about $37,000 a month, he added.
