The chapter 11 trustee for a collapsed United Furniture Industries Inc. was approved on Wednesday by a bankruptcy judge, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal reported. Derek Henderson was selected as the trustee by a federal bankruptcy trustee after being signed off on by United and its creditors, led by Wells Fargo & Co. The chapter 11 motion approved on Jan. 18 for United gives the manufacturer the opportunity to direct the sale of its assets with the oversight of a trustee. United unexpectedly shut down Nov. 22, immediately ending employment and health insurance benefits for 530 Triad employees and about 2,700 companywide. Among its assets is the 850,000-square-foot production facility at 401 W. Hanes Mill Road in Winston-Salem. Wells Fargo filed a motion for chapter 7 liquidation of the manufacturer’s assets and the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee. The bank said in a Dec. 30 court filing requesting the chapter 7 liquidation of United that it is owed $99.21 million in secured debt. However, the bank acknowledged it “estimates that any recoveries from liquidation of (United’s) collateral will result in a recovery equal to a fraction of this amount.”
