Mountain Express Oil Company’s bankruptcy trustee has received approval to distribute funds totaling up to $180,000 to “certain key employees” as part of a key employment retention plan (KERP), according to an Aug. 29 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
According to court documents, these “certain key employees” will be paid to help the trustee, Janet Northrop, preserve and protect Mountain Express’ estates; gather, preserve and protect its records; and wind down its administration functions.
The KERP order was enacted in April as a means for Mountain Express to incentivize employees to stay with the company as it pursued Chapter 11 bankruptcy. At the time, these employees were given 50% of their KERP payment, and were to receive the other half upon a sale of the company, court documents note.
However, since the proposed sale failed, these employees never received the rest of their funds. Now that Mountain Express is in Chapter 7 bankruptcy — and liquidating its assets — its trustee has been approved to make the full payments.
The emergency order — signed by Judge David Jones — is effective immediately, court documents show. This approval will help preserve Mountain Express’ assets and protect the interest of its creditors and stakeholders, according to court documents.
Upon announcing on Aug. 24 that it was terminating all of its c-store leases and existing fuel supply agreements, Mountain Express also said it would pay its employees’ unpaid wages. The retailer also terminated its employees during this time.
Founded in 2000, Alpharetta, Georgia-based Mountain Express Oil formerly distributed fuel to 855 locations around the country, including 27 travel centers, and operated about 171 retail stores. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.
