Deerfield Ranch Winery Says Chapter 11 Resulted From Shoddy Rabobank Actions

Deerfield Ranch Winery’s Feb. 13, 2014 Chapter 11 filing should never have been necessary but for shoddy treatment by senior secured lender Rabobank according to a winery declaration filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California (Santa Rosa.)

The declaration by Robert Rex, winery co-founder and winemaker charged that Rabobank had dealt with the winery improperly including a change in loan terms that had never been presented for due diligence to the winery or its accountants at Moss-Adams.

In a lengthy recitation of the dealings with Rabobank, Rex detailed the winery’s contentious relationship and noted that:

“Despite the fact that Deerfield had never failed to make its regular monthly payments, and had paid almost $4 million over the preceding five years, Rabobank filed a judicial foreclosure action in February 2014.”

That foreclosure action — which Rex said was unjustified — and the subsequent appointment of a receiver made it impossible to obtain credit and forced the bankruptcy filing.

Rex’s detailed 15-page declaration describing what hew considers abuses by Rabobank is available here for Wine Executive News premium subscribers.

Assets, Liabilities, Top Creditors

The main Chapter 11 petition (still without a number of required schedules) estimates both liabilities and assets as $10 to $50 million.

The list of the top 20 unsecured creditors amounts to $257,998.36. However, 12 of the top 20 are growers who are secured by California statutory growers liens.

Wine Executive News premium subscribers can click here to access the full Chapter 11 petition document including that list of creditors.

A hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 19, 2014, at the Santa Rosa courtroom.

The winery has issued a press release on the bankruptcy filing: Sonoma Valley Winery Deerfield Ranch Files for Chapter 11

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