Co-owner’s homes go into foreclosure

5/17/2011

EDITOR'S NOTE: This version corrects which properties are affected.

Fifth Third Bank has started foreclosure proceedings against Toledo property owned by Tony Packo’s Inc. co-owner Robin Horvath to collect on defaulted loans owed by the restaurant chain, court filings show.

However, the bank has not initiated any foreclosure proceedings against Tony Packo, Jr., another co-owner and company president.

A foreclosure complaint filed by the bank Friday includes three adjacent parcels on Consaul Street, which sit behind Tony Packo’s main restaurant on Toledo’s east side. The complaint against Mr. Horvath says the Consaul Street properties, which include a two-bedroom single-family house, have an “unknown tenant.”

Records from the Lucas County auditor’s office show that Mr. Horvath owns the parcels, which were owned by his mother, Nancy Packo Horvath, before her death in 2003. The complaint does not include Mr. Horvath’s home on Valencia Drive in Toledo.

The foreclosure proceeding is part of Fifth Third’s effort to collect on almost $669,000 owed to the bank by Mr. Horvath, chief operating officer of Tony Packo’s, and Mr. Packo.

The debt is based on their personal guarantees of business loans for Tony Packo’s, which the business defaulted on last year.

James Rogers, a lawyer for Mr. Packo, said he is not aware of any foreclosure filings against his client, who lives in Lambertville .

“Because Tony Packo, Jr., lives in Michigan, Fifth Third Bank is not legally entitled to foreclose on his residence at this time,” Mr. Rogers explained.

The complaint against Mr. Horvath says the Consaul Street properties, which include a two-bedroom single-family house, have an “unknown tenant.”

Records from the Lucas County auditor’s office show that Mr. Horvath owns the parcels, which were owned by his mother, Nancy Packo Horvath, before her death in 2003.

Attorneys for Mr. Horvath and Fifth Third declined to comment Monday.

The foreclosure action was taken after Fifth Third garnisheed bank accounts in February held by Mr. Horvath and Mr. Packo to collect on the Tony Packo’s debt.

Fifth Third seized more than $110,000 from accounts Mr. Horvath held at the bank and took more than $30,000 from an account he held at KeyBank.

Fifth Third also garnisheed Mr. Horvath’s accounts at other banks but did not collect from those seizures.

Mr. Rogers said he does not believe any money was collected from the accounts of Mr. Packo, although court filings show that Fifth Third attempted to garnishee funds from several banks.

The foreclosure filing is part of an ongoing legal battle for control of Tony Packo’s.

Mr. Horvath, who owns half the company, sued Mr. Packo and Executive Vice President Tony Packo III in Lucas County Common Pleas Court in July.

He is seeking monetary damages and a forced sale of company shares by the Packos, who jointly own 50 percent of the business.

Mr. Horvath and Mr. Packo III have submitted competing offers to purchase Tony Packo’s.

Mr. Packo III’s bid, submitted during a closed auction in December, involves a group of investors that include two members of the restaurant-owning Mancy family.

Common Pleas Judge Gene Zmuda, who is presiding over the case, plans to make rulings in the next few weeks on several standing motions in the lawsuit.

A hearing is scheduled for June 10.

Contact Sheena Harrison at: sharrison@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.