The Naked Furniture on Washtenaw Avenue will have a complete inventory sale on Thursday, May 8 – more than two months after the store's owner abruptly filed for bankruptcy and closed the store after nearly 15 years in business.

A sign is attached to the front door of the building that reads:

Sam Sweet, the bankruptcy trustee, has been charged with selling off all of former owner Ronald Lafluer’s assets in order to pay off the debt ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.

It’s uncertain how much merchandise is still in the store, but inventory includes mattresses, leather sofas, solid wood, bedroom sets, dining room sets, bookcases and potentially some personal property owned by Lafluer that must be liquidated to pay off assets.

More than 73 creditors were listed on Lafluer's Feb. 17, 2014 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, but several new creditors have surfaced, including customers who made full and partial payments toward furniture orders.

According to court documents, his assets total between $100,000 and $500,000.

The filing listed 73 creditors – including a $125,000 debt to the IRS, a $26,000 debt to the Michigan Department of Treasury, and a $2,800 debt to the city of Ann Arbor.

Sweet explained that Lafluer’s debt became insurmountable because customers' orders were manufactured upon request, and the customer made payments to Lafluer at the time the order was submitted. However, Lafluer was not required to pay the manufacturer until the item was ready for delivery. Sweet said that it was possible that Lafluer spent money received from orders, but was unable to pay for orders once they were ready to be shipped.

Since the time he was appointed as the bankruptcy trustee, Sweet has been contacting customers who made full or partial payments in order to work out arrangements to get them their merchandise.

The repayment of debtors will depend on the sale price of Lafluer's estate, as well as the number of people who file claims, and the total amount of those claims.



If the liquidation sale nets more than the amount of the customer claims, all of the customers will be paid back in full and the government entities will get paid a ratio as it relates to the the amount they’re owed.

If the sale nets less than the customer claims, they will be paid a certain percentage of what they paid out for their orders and all other debtors will be paid out with any remaining funds.