Bank Seeking Payment of Carpets of Dalton Debt

Dalton, GA, Nov. 5, 2010 -- Carpets of Dalton is being forced to repay $40 million in loans within 10 days and is now the subject of a federal court lawsuit seeking to recover the money, according to a story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Hennon & Brown Properties and its four subsidiary companies are named in the lawsuit filed by BB&T bank in U.S. District Court in Rome, Georgia.

According to the story, the lawsuit states that the companies borrowed heavily in 2006 and 2007, but by 2010 there had been "various defaults" that led the bank to seek payment in full within ten days.

The companies didn't come up with the money in time, and now the case is headed to court as Hennon seeks to restructure the debt.

The lawsuit names Hennon & Brown, Carpets of Dalton, American Home Showplace and Campus Pointe, an apartment complex near the campus of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, an apparent investment owned by Hennon & Brown.

In the lawsuit, BB&T asks the court to award it the balance of Hennon's companies' loans, including interest and attorney fees.

Carpets of Dalton has annual flooring sales of roughly $24 million, according to a yearly survey by Floor Focus magazine. Carpets of Dalton started out as a specialty flooring store and diversified into home furnishings, and appliances in the 90s. They actively support many local charities in the Dalton/Northwest Georgia area.