Special to The Citizen
Those looking for fantastic deals should head over to Grove’s True Value Hardware at Oakwood Plaza in Groveland Township this weekend for the store’s ‘going out of business? sale.
But don’t expect to see any members of the Grove family walking the floor or working behind the counter because Citizens Republic Bancorp is running the show.
On Aug. 17, Oakland County Circuit Judge John J. McDonald granted the Flint-based bank’s petition to place the Groves? stores in Groveland Township, South Lyon and Ortonville into receivership.
According to court documents, the Groves ? through their various business entities which include Oxford Village Hardware, Inc., Grove Enterprises, LLC, Grove’s Rochester Hardware, LLC, and Grove Property, LLC ? owe the bank $2.246 million plus interest and fees after ‘failing to make payments and provide business and financial reports required by the loan documents.?
Nathan Grove, one of the owners, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
At the bank’s request, the Midland-based ARP Services was appointed by the court as the receiver to oversee the liquidation of all inventory and assets at the three stores.
Shoppers can look forward to discounts of up to 50 percent on everything in the store. Even store equipment and fixtures will be for sale.
Court documents revealed this isn’t the first time the Groves have been taken to court over debt-related issues.
In October 2005, the Groves were sued by the Ace Hardware Corporation in federal court because they owed more than $425,000, according to court records.
The Groves converted their stores from Ace Hardwares to True Value Hardwares in July 2005.
In April of this year, a federal judge ordered the Groves to pay Ace Hardware $550,202 to cover the debt, plus $22,688 for the corporation’s legal fees.
Court documents revealed that when the Groves borrowed $2.25 million from Citizens Republic Bancorp in July 2007, the bank indicated the family did not disclose anything about the pending lawsuit with Ace.
An Aug. 7 motion filed by the bank’s attorney stated the Groves ‘resorted to a deliberate pattern of deception and fraud of Citizens (Bank) throughout the loan relationship.?
The Groves ‘were able to convince their accountants to omit (information related the Ace lawsuit) from the financial statements presented at that time? to the bank, according to court records.
Once the judgment was made in Ace Hardware’s favor, the court documents stated the Groves took ‘deliberate actions to conceal that event by failing and refusing to provide the monthly financial reports since that time? to Citizens Republic Bancorp.
The Grove family has owned and operated businesses in Oxford since 1930.