Rocky Bankruptcy Debut for Company Tied to Fatal Blast at Houston Plant

A bankruptcy judge reprimanded a Houston manufacturer involved in a fatal explosion, criticizing the company for focusing on emergency financing instead of victims of the Jan. 24 blast, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur on Monday rejected an emergency financing motion from Watson Grinding & Manufacturing Co. and a sister company, Watson Valve Services Inc., admitting he was angry about the maneuver. Two people were killed in the explosion and another death has since been linked to the event, which took place at a plant located in a heavily populated residential and commercial area of Houston. Lawyers representing 250 homeowners whose properties were damaged in the blast appeared at Monday’s hearing, as did lawyers for the families of those who died in the explosion. “The families who have lost a loved one, who are caring for an injured child, who have lost their homes or had damage to their homes are facing true emergencies,” Judge Isgur said at a hearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Watson Grinding had sought to use $3 million in insurance proceeds to pay off lender Texas Capital Bank and avoid a fight over the use of cash collateral. Judge Isgur said the bank created an artificial emergency by putting Watson Grinding on a tight deadline. “There is no emergency,” the judge said.