Miell protests liquidation

Robert Miell, the owner of one of Cedar Rapids' largest property rental companies, has appealed liquidation of his property empire in bankruptcy.

Miell on Thursday appealed an Oct. 9 order that converts his bankruptcy filing from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a Chapter 7 liquidation where assets will be sold to satisfy creditors.

“Conversion is premature and will not maximize value for creditors,” said the petition filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

It says the bankruptcy trustee has escalated operating costs at the rental business. The vacancy rate among the properties at the time of the conversion hearing had increased to 30 percent.

In arguing for a reversal of the decision by Chief Bankruptcy Judge Paul Kilburg, Miell pointed to liquidation objections by Renee Hanrahan, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the bankrupt company, and by Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, a law firm owed money by the company.

Hanrahan previously said too little information was available to decide whether the company could survive and pay off creditors.

The law firm said liquidating the company was less likely to leave any recovery for unsecured creditors.

Miell owns hundreds of houses and apartments, but his holdings are heavily in debt and many are in poor condition, according to court documents. Miell was recently convicted of federal charges.