Old Blue Gator site to go up for Sheriff's auction Wednesday

Two properties that were foreclosed on in a legal action against former hostage Terry Anderson go on the auction block Wednesday.

The pending sale of the properties appears to take care of some or all of the debt obligations that led Anderson to file for personal bankruptcy protection late last year.

The site of the now-closed Blue Gator bar/restaurant at 63 N. Court St., and Anderson's horse ranch at 19197 River Road are both due to be sold at sheriff's auction Feb. 17, according to the sheriff's Web site.

The Gator site is appraised at $550,000, according to the sheriff's site, while the Willow Run Ranch property that will be auctioned has been appraised at $425,000.

Anderson, his business partner Joel Schechtman and other parties were sued in Athens County Common Pleas Court in June 2008 by local developer Brent Hayes. The suit claimed that in May 2007 Hayes loaned Anderson $150,000, for which Hayes pledged his ranch as collateral.

After Anderson allegedly failed to repay the loan, Hayes sought to foreclose on Anderson's ranch, and collect more than $280,000 in damages.

A local bank later joined the action, seeking to attach some Athens businesses in which Anderson was a partner, including the Blue Gator.

The foreclosure action has been resolved in Hayes' favor, and Hocking Valley Bank has been dismissed as a party.

In November, Anderson, who had received a reported $26 million in a legal settlement based on his lengthy captivity in the hands of Islamic extremists, filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy protection in a federal court in Kentucky.

In his bankruptcy filing, Anderson claimed he owed around $1.9 million to various creditors, mainly in connection with failed businesses he was involved in.

On Nov. 30, a local judge granted Hayes summary judgment in the foreclosure case, and on Jan. 1, the court issued an order of sale for real estate in the case.

On Jan. 29, a judge in the bankruptcy case filed a notice of sufficient assets, which stated that when the case was first filed, "it appeared... that there were no assets from which dividends could be paid to creditors," but that "it now appears that the payment of a dividend may be possible."

Then on Feb. 9, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William S. Howard filed a notice granting Anderson a discharge of debt in the case.

The filing noted that the discharge does not dismiss the bankruptcy case, and does not determine how much money, if any, Anderson must pay to his creditors.

"Most, but not all, types of debts are discharged if the debt existed on the date the bankruptcy was filed," the document states.