A federal court in Las Vegas has dismissed an attempted bankruptcy filing from the former operator of the Edenville Dam, Lee Mueller, for exceeding eligibility limits.
Following the failure of the dam in 2020, operator Lee Mueller was ordered to pay nearly $120 million to the state for his role in the collapse that impacted thousands of residents across Midland and Gladwin counties.
Mueller petitioned for chapter 13 bankruptcy in the Las Vegas court, where Mueller resides.
In his petition, Mueller claimed the amount of debt he owed to the state of Michigan was “unknown.” Because of this, he said the amount should not count towards the eligibility limit.
But the court denied his filing, ruling that Mueller knowingly concealed the true extent of his debts, which exceeded the eligibility limit for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which is capped at $2.7 million.
“Mr. Mueller has repeatedly made inaccurate representations to two different courts in his attempts to evade accountability and money judgments for his responsibility for the Edenville Dam disaster,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in a written statement.
This ruling marks the second time Mueller has been found to be acting in bad faith by a federal court.
