Christensen Shipyard shutdown a hard hit

The hardships of James and other former Christensen employees are part of the ongoing fallout from the company’s plunge into a court-ordered receivership process. The process could lead to liquidation of Christensen, a company that once sold a yacht to Tiger Woods and that once boasted of a turnaround after the Great Recession.

It’s unclear how many former employees have received the same letter as James. However, about 10 people currently work for Christensen, Ken Pickering, a former maintenance foreman who now works as a security guard for the company, said Wednesday.

In February, one employee told The Columbian that Christensen’s workforce had steadily declined, through furloughs and layoffs, from a range of 400 to 450 down to a range of 100 to 110. Other employees, who wished to remain anonymous, have cited similar numbers to the newspaper.

On March 20, Clark County Superior Court Judge Gregory Gonzales appointed Miles Stover to take responsibility for Christensen’s property.

Attempts by email and phone to reach Stover were unsuccessful Wednesday. Stover forwarded the newspaper’s email to Al Kennedy, the attorney for the receivership. In an email to The Columbian, Kennedy, of the Tonkon Torp law firm in Portland, said Stover “is fully focused on restoring the shipyard’s operations. He respects your position and wishes to be cooperative but does not have availability for an interview today. He will be filing reports with the court in the weeks ahead that will be responsive to all of your questions.”

‘Reasonably necessary’

Stover’s broad powers include the authority to “market, sell, operate, protect, deliver and liquidate the property, the business of Christensen and/or any portion of such property or business,” according to the judge’s ruling.

Stover is founder and president of Turnaround Inc., a Gig Harbor-based firm specializing in crisis and bankruptcy management, and investigative and financial advisory services. Under Gonzales’ ruling, Stover has 30 days from March 20 to provide all parties with a stake in Christensen’s business with a 90-day budget to relaunch the company’s shipbuilding operations.

The company faces several lawsuits, including from suppliers demanding payment. At least one supplier, Stellar Industrial Supply, argues Christensen was mismanaged into ruin. The first sign of Christensen’s financial turmoil emerged late last year when the company announced it was “currently working on a multipart ownership restructure” as it put some workers, including James, on temporary furlough.

Creditors were circling in December and January. Gonzales’ ruling is favorable to two parties who filed a lawsuit asking the court to appoint a receiver: Henry Luken, the deep-pocketed Tennessee businessman who owns 50 percent of Christensen, and Christensen Financing LLC, an apparent affiliate of Luken’s.

Luken and Christensen Financing argued that a receiver should be appointed, in part because the company’s leaders, including Luken and President Joe Foggia, were deadlocked over its direction.

They contended a receiver would ensure that work on partially completed boats will be finished. Christensen Shipyards also “is not generally paying its debts as they become due,” Luken and Christensen Financing argued in documents filed on their behalf by the Portland law firm Ball Janik.

In answering the suit, Christensen Shipyards admits to this description of its finances. However, the company opposed appointing a receiver. It asserted that Luken and Christensen Financing failed to notify the company and to give it time to remedy any default.

Gonzales ruled otherwise. The judge said the appointment of Stover is “reasonably necessary under the circumstances to preserve and protect Christensen’s assets and the value of the business.”

‘It’s been a struggle’

For his part, James is trying to move on from Christensen, where he worked for four years.

The March 30 letter, signed by Stover, leaves him no choice. “All of a sudden you get a letter,” James said. “If you read it, it says right there, ‘permanent.’ “

The letter also says James can apply for COBRA, the federal program that allows people to continue medical coverage. But that will cost him more. Maybe he’ll find a cheaper plan under the Affordable Care Act. James said he’s looking into it.

James said Christensen owes him at least 36 hours of accumulated vacation pay, and the letter says the company hopes it can find the money to make that payment. It says a notice will be sent to him about how to make claims under the receivership process. James said he wonders exactly how many hoops he’ll have to jump through just to obtain something that’s rightfully his.

If he has any personal items remaining at the shipyard, according to the letter, James can call Pickering, the security guard, and arrange to come pick them up.

In the aftermath of Christensen’s implosion, James left his apartment and moved in with his sister. “My budget’s been cut almost three quarters,” he said. “It’s been a struggle on paying everything.”

One lesson he learned from the experience, James said, is that it’s not enough to keep your head down and do your job well. You’ve got to ask questions, even if it’s uncomfortable. Still, Christensen could have warned employees, James said. Maybe people could have prepared, looked for other work sooner.

Looking ahead, James said, he’s just trying find a new place in the labor market.

“I’m not closed off,” he said. “I can’t keep myself closed off to a certain market. At this point in time, I’m just looking for something that has decent wages and decent hours.”