A Hartford company that set out to manufacture environmentally friendly caskets is fighting to keep its bankruptcy case alive after a federal watchdog moved to dismiss it, alleging the business lacks insurance and failed to file required financial records.
Kingstown Green Inc. Eco-Friendly Casket Cooperative has manufactured only nine caskets, with three available for sale, but has not sold any since its 2021 inception, according to a filing by the U.S. Trustee’s Office — the arm of the Justice Department that oversees the bankruptcy system.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 4, the same day it was scheduled to lose its Locust Street property to foreclosure.
Nine days later, the U.S. Trustee’s Office asked the court to dismiss the case, citing the company’s lack of casualty and liability insurance, and its failure to file financial documents required of Subchapter V small-business debtors.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James J. Tancredi is scheduled to hear the motion this afternoon in Hartford.
During a May 12 interview with trustee personnel, company President Edward Henderson and attorney Joseph J. D’Agostino Jr. described Kingstown Green as a startup created in 2021 to manufacture eco-friendly caskets for direct sale to consumers and funeral homes, according to the trustee’s filing.
Henderson attributed the lack of business in part to disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the filing states.
The company has no paid employees, according to the document. Henderson told trustee personnel that he maintains and secures the property himself with help from a family member.
Kingstown Green reported roughly $95,700 in gross receipts in 2021, but recorded a loss. In 2022, it reported no receipts and a net loss of roughly $125,000, ending the year with an accumulated deficit of about $173,000.
Bankruptcy schedules list roughly $777,000 in assets, most of it tied to the company’s property at 203 Locust St., against roughly $750,000 in liabilities.
Cooperative Fund of the Northeast Inc., a Massachusetts-based community lender holding a $500,000 first mortgage on the property, secured a judgment of strict foreclosure in January.
Kingstown Green filed for bankruptcy on May 4, the same day it was set to lose ownership of the property in the foreclosure case. The filing automatically paused the process.
The company also lists $250,000 in unsecured debt owed to three mission-driven lenders focused on cooperatives and social enterprises.
Kingstown Green, which traces its roots to Skokie, Illinois, purchased the former Hartford showroom property for $495,000 in 2021. At the time, a company official told the Hartford Business Journal that Kingstown Green planned to hire six to 10 workers.
D’Agostino did not respond to a request for comment.
