Van Der Molen Recreational Properties Inc., the owner of a Jellystone Park camping resort in western Wisconsin, has sought bankruptcy protection two months after losing a Minnesota lender's lawsuit over missing loan payments.
The company, whose children-oriented campground in Warrens, Wis., includes a water park, has assets of less than $10 million and debt of as much as $50 million, according to Chapter 11 documents filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
The Carol Stream, Ill., developer was ordered by a judge in September to pay $3.12 million to Carlton Financial Corp., a Wayzata lender that financed construction equipment. The lender sued the company and its owner in August in Minneapolis federal court.
Van Der Molen also owes $25 million to the Bank of Mauston in Mauston, Wis., and $6.7 million to United Bank in Mondovi, Wis., according to court papers signed by the campground's owner, Edward Van Der Molen.
Jellystone Park Camp Resort is franchised from Milford, Ohio-based Leisure Systems Inc., which isn't involved in the case.
The campgrounds use the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Yogi Bear as their mascot.
BLOOMBERG NEWS
