A house features a 303 Construction sign out front. (Facebook)
A small construction company in Denver filed for bankruptcy four months after it and others were ordered to pay a quarter-million dollars to an inventor of metal underwear.
303 Construction Services, which operates out of a house in the City Park neighborhood, filed for Chapter 11 protection March 8. It owes about $375,000 to a half-dozen people and companies and has less than $50,000 in assets, according to its bankruptcy paperwork.
Formed in 2018, 303 Construction does residential and commercial construction, specializing in insurance claims, according to its website. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to remain in business and restructure while repaying creditors over time.
Most of 303 Construction’s debt — about $260,000 — is owed to two of its former customers: Renee Sweet and Jeffrey Buske of Castle Rock. In 2010, Buske made national headlines by selling tungsten-lined underwear designed to evade airport security scanners.
Sweet and Buske sued 303 Construction, company owner Bryan Moore, and four other people or companies in April 2022. Their lawsuit, filed in Douglas County District Court without the help of an attorney, accused the defendants of taking Sweet and Buske’s $40,000 insurance check and depositing it in a 303 Construction bank account without their knowledge.
The defendants then refused to do restoration work on Sweet and Buske’s home in Castle Rock, forcing them to live out of boxes for years, according to the lawsuit. The defendants also refused to return $25,000 in personal property they were holding, the lawsuit claimed.
303 Construction and Moore were served the lawsuit in May 2022 but didn’t respond to it. As a result, Judge Andrew Baum ruled in favor of Sweet and Buske last November. Baum determined 303 Construction and the other defendants had committed civil theft, as Sweet and Buske alleged, and ordered the six defendants to pay the plaintiffs $259,587.
On Feb. 15, Moore asked Baum to set aside the judgment against him and 303 Construction. Baum denied that request and ordered the company’s bank account be garnished.
“They robbed from the wrong people,” Buske said by phone Monday.
“Building materials are still stacked around our property,” he said. “We’ve been living without a kitchen for four-plus years, washing dishes in the bathroom sink.”
Moore and 303 Construction did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen.
In its bankruptcy filing, 303 Construction lists Sweet and Buske as the company’s top creditors and says it owes $259,587 to them. It also owes $65,000 to American Express, $29,000 to Chase, $10,000 to Vectra Bank, $6,000 to Verizon and $4,000 to Discover.
Two years before Sweet and Buske’s lawsuit was filed, a Weld County couple sued 303 Construction, accusing the company of shoddy work on their home. 303 Construction said it wasn’t given enough time to make repairs. The case was settled.
In the bankruptcy case, 303 Construction is represented by attorney Keri Riley with the law firm Kutner Brinen Dickey Riley in Denver. She did not respond to a request for comment.
A house features a 303 Construction sign out front. (Facebook)
A small construction company in Denver filed for bankruptcy four months after it and others were ordered to pay a quarter-million dollars to an inventor of metal underwear.
303 Construction Services, which operates out of a house in the City Park neighborhood, filed for Chapter 11 protection March 8. It owes about $375,000 to a half-dozen people and companies and has less than $50,000 in assets, according to its bankruptcy paperwork.
Formed in 2018, 303 Construction does residential and commercial construction, specializing in insurance claims, according to its website. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to remain in business and restructure while repaying creditors over time.
Most of 303 Construction’s debt — about $260,000 — is owed to two of its former customers: Renee Sweet and Jeffrey Buske of Castle Rock. In 2010, Buske made national headlines by selling tungsten-lined underwear designed to evade airport security scanners.
Sweet and Buske sued 303 Construction, company owner Bryan Moore, and four other people or companies in April 2022. Their lawsuit, filed in Douglas County District Court without the help of an attorney, accused the defendants of taking Sweet and Buske’s $40,000 insurance check and depositing it in a 303 Construction bank account without their knowledge.
The defendants then refused to do restoration work on Sweet and Buske’s home in Castle Rock, forcing them to live out of boxes for years, according to the lawsuit. The defendants also refused to return $25,000 in personal property they were holding, the lawsuit claimed.
303 Construction and Moore were served the lawsuit in May 2022 but didn’t respond to it. As a result, Judge Andrew Baum ruled in favor of Sweet and Buske last November. Baum determined 303 Construction and the other defendants had committed civil theft, as Sweet and Buske alleged, and ordered the six defendants to pay the plaintiffs $259,587.
On Feb. 15, Moore asked Baum to set aside the judgment against him and 303 Construction. Baum denied that request and ordered the company’s bank account be garnished.
“They robbed from the wrong people,” Buske said by phone Monday.
“Building materials are still stacked around our property,” he said. “We’ve been living without a kitchen for four-plus years, washing dishes in the bathroom sink.”
Moore and 303 Construction did not respond to requests for comment from BusinessDen.
In its bankruptcy filing, 303 Construction lists Sweet and Buske as the company’s top creditors and says it owes $259,587 to them. It also owes $65,000 to American Express, $29,000 to Chase, $10,000 to Vectra Bank, $6,000 to Verizon and $4,000 to Discover.
Two years before Sweet and Buske’s lawsuit was filed, a Weld County couple sued 303 Construction, accusing the company of shoddy work on their home. 303 Construction said it wasn’t given enough time to make repairs. The case was settled.
In the bankruptcy case, 303 Construction is represented by attorney Keri Riley with the law firm Kutner Brinen Dickey Riley in Denver. She did not respond to a request for comment.
