A Bad Year

Statistics in federal bankruptcy court here show that 1974 was a very tough year indeed for plenty of people and corporations.

At the close of 1974, a whopping 566 “straight” bankruptcies had been filed, compared with only 413 filed during 1973. That’s a 37 per cent increase in the number of people, mostly ordinary individuals, who simply threw in the towel and let a court-approved trustee sell off their assets.

Chapter XI bankruptcies showed a similar upswing in 1974. Twenty-four were filed in 1973 compared with 43 filed by late December, 1974, representing an 80 per cent increase. Chapter XI bankruptcies are generally filed by corporations which hope to maintain some control over their own affairs by working out a court-approved plan to pay off creditors.

Among the corporations filing under Chapter XI in 1974 was James Ling’s Omega-Alpha, which went under in September, after First Pennsylvania Banking and Trust Co. called a $25 million loan. Omega-Alpha reported assets of $47 million and liabilities of $93 million.

1974 was a miserable year for land developers, especially for Tan-glewood-on-Texoma, a favorite weekend resort for many Dallasites. Tanglewood is a $17 million housing and lodge development along the shore of Lake Texoma, complete with a yacht club, country club and golf course. Hopelessly mired in the money crunch and energy crisis, Tanglewood filed in October under Chapter X. Since then court-appointed trustees have been running Tan-glewood’s affairs.

Hill Properties, a wide-ranging Dallas land development and apartment building outfit, filed for bankruptcy in November. Hill was incorporated in June, 1972, and since has accumulated vast holdings in raw land, apartments and related businesses, located principally in Texas, Arizona and Florida. Hill’s debt’s were listed at $106 million, with property holdings valued at $88 million.

Land proved the downfall for themost notable individual going bankrupt in 1974-Lawrence Marcus.Marcus, younger brother of Stanley,manages Neiman’s Houston operations. Until last April, he was a partner in Oakbrook Ltd., a multimillion-dollar land development organization operating in DallasCounty, and to the north, in DentonCounty. Property listed by Marcus exceeds $10 million, including a$500,000 Houston home and a 1967Rolls Royce, which are exempt fromcreditors.