Eric Ludwig's unexpected appearance at his bankruptcy hearing brings him face to face with angry former customers.
By JENNIFER LIBERTO
Published October 23, 2003
TAMPA - When Laura Carlucci saw the man who owes her thousands of dollars on her unfinished home, she sat down and started to tremble.
When Larry Marsh saw the man whose unfinished work left him a concrete slab and a $12,000 debt, he pointed to him and said, "There's the a--hole."
Carlucci and Marsh were among several surprised Brooksville and Spring Hill creditors who did not expect Eric Ludwig to appear at his company's hearing Wednesday morning in federal bankruptcy court in Tampa.
Over the summer, Ludwig had vanished, avoiding calls and moving away, after he closed his Spring Hill home-building business, which owes a few hundred thousand dollars to homeowners, employees and subcontractors.
About a dozen creditors showed up at Wednesday's hearing. They learned they could expect to collect little to nothing from the bankrupt company, Ludwig Designs. But they did get a coveted chance to confront Ludwig - a first for the homeowners, whose last contact with the builder was via a sign on Ludwig Designs' office door that stated Ludwig had closed the company because of health reasons.
"I don't understand how he could do this to innocent people, especially since some of us were his friends," Carlucci, 32, said through tears to those gathered in the room. The widow and mother had given Ludwig $24,000 toward her home, which remains unfinished.
Ludwig, a chubby, bespectacled man who looks more like an accountant than a home builder, sounded contrite in his response.
"These were all my friends, and I'm devastated more than they are," Ludwig said in the middle of the 30-minute hearing.
Several customers snorted and sneered at his response.
When Ludwig Designs closed at the end of July, the company had taken thousands of dollars from some 18 homeowners over 15 months.
Ludwig completed three homes; most of his clients got nothing for their money.
Ludwig told federal bankruptcy trustee Traci Strickland that he declared bankruptcy because of a "lack of funds."
When Strickland asked how he could declare bankruptcy after collecting $400,000 in gross income in 2003, Ludwig offered a vague explanation, blaming mortgage companies and subcontractors for his troubles.
Ludwig said he recently returned to Pennsylvania and now works as a real estate agent for a company that had employed him before he moved to Florida four years ago.
"I have no interest in building homes anymore," Ludwig said near the end of the meeting.
Ludwig appeared nervous the entire morning, avoiding eye contact with his creditors. He refused to give the bankruptcy trustee his phone number in public. His attorney asked building security guards to escort him out of the federal building after the hearing ended.
Through his attorney, Ludwig declined to talk with a Times reporter.
During the hearing, Ludwig pointed to homeowner Al Lendzian as the culprit who started his bankruptcy troubles. Lendzian was one of Ludwig's first customers.
Lendzian said Ludwig did not complete half his home and he accused the company of shoddy work. Ludwig said Lendzian's home is nearly complete and that Lendzian owes him $9,000 on his contract.
Ludwig accused Lendzian of bad-mouthing Ludwig to subcontractors, who later demanded Ludwig pay them cash up front before completing any work.
Lendzian denied sullying Ludwig's reputation and called Ludwig a liar.
Strickland ended the confrontation between the two and spoke to creditors with sympathy. She calculated that homeowners might collect 2 to 3 percent of what they claim to be owed.
"I'm going to tell you all the truth: There's not many assets in the case," Strickland said. "It would be a year or so before you'd get anything, and we're talking cents on the dollar."
Strickland ordered Ludwig to send her his company's last six months of bank statements. Those owed money have until Jan. 20, 2004, to file a claim in the bankruptcy case.
After the hearing, a few homeowners said they were glad they had attended and had gotten a final chance to question Ludwig, although a few called the hearing a waste of time.
"I'm just glad he got to see us all there," Carlucci said.
- Jennifer Liberto can be reached at 848-1434. Send e-mail to liberto@sptimes.com
