Overview
- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott W. Everett converted Merit Street’s Chapter 11 case to Chapter 7 and assigned a trustee to sell the company’s assets, including its media library.
- The judge said Merit Street was “as dead as a doornail” at filing and criticized Phil McGraw’s lack of candor, citing deletion of a text subject to discovery.
- The Chapter 7 trustee will handle creditor recoveries and litigation, including disputes with Trinity Broadcasting Network and a roughly $181 million claim from Professional Bull Riders.
- Peteski Productions said it will likely appeal and rejected the court’s assertions about destroyed evidence, stating it sought to protect employees and partners.
- Court findings noted plans to steer assets to McGraw’s new venture, Envoy Media, which recently secured a Charter carriage deal for Envoy TV.