Main Street Connect L.L.C., which does business as The Daily Voice, was given bankruptcy court approval to sell its 41 news websites covering towns in Fairfield County and Westchester County to founder Carll Tucker and two shareholders.
A White Plains, N.Y., bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Main Street Connect’s 41 websites – including 11 in Fairfield County – to Tucker and the two shareholders for $800,000, after no other bids for the company were received.
The Armonk, N.Y. company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, with Tucker claiming that a lawsuit brought by two former reporters against the publisher was precluding Main Street Connect from attracting new investments while also depriving it of funds needed to maintain operations, according to court documents.
The former employees accused the publisher of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, claiming that they were not exempt workers and that as such, they should have been entitled to overtime pay. The lawsuit, which has yet to move to trial, has already cost Main Street Connect $500,000 in fees, according to court documents.
In its May 7 bankruptcy filing, Main Street Connect listed assets of $395,000 and liabilities of more than $870,000, including $550,000 in secured debt.
