First Brands Founder James Says Lenders to Blame for Bankruptcy
Summarize this article with:
Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the worldAmericas+1 212 318 2000EMEA+44 20 7330 7500Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000Bottles of Fram full synthetic motor oil at an auto parts store in Provo, Utah.First Brands founder Patrick James asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars, contending firms that provided his company with off balance-sheet financing engaged in “predatory” practices that helped tip the auto-parts supplier into bankruptcy.The claim by James, who has denied wrongdoing, is part of a broader defense made in a Monday court filing by his lawyers, who argue there’s not enough evidence to justify holding him solely responsible for the collapse of the company. First Brands was unable to withstand both a series of external factors including rising interest rates and tariffs, as well as the costs associated with its off balance-sheet debt, saying lenders “earned significant amounts of money from their relationships” with the company.