Claims against Qimonda total more than $2.5 billion

Previous Coverage: Qimonda

The bankrupt Qimonda memory-chip manufacturing plant in eastern Henrico County owes the county $4.46 million, according to court records.

The city of Richmond is due $1.7 million, the bankruptcy court records show.

And Virginia Commonwealth University has filed a claim, saying Qimonda owes $1.37 million to its School of Engineering Foundation.

The two localities and VCU have claim amounts high enough to put them among the list of Qimonda's top 35 creditors.

More than $2.5 billion in claims have been filed against Qimonda Richmond LLC, the operator of the semiconductor plant that filed for bankruptcy in February.

At the top of the list is the semiconductor's parent company, Qimonda AG, which filed two claims totaling more than $1.7 billion for loans and outstanding contracts.

The Bank of Utah comes next, claiming nearly $254 million owed to the financial institution on behalf of bondholders.

Not far down on the list, though, come the hits felt in the Richmond region.

Henrico and Richmond, VCU and other employers have filed claims against Qimonda in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware in hopes of recouping some costs.

Qimonda owes the county for lost payments on real estate taxes, personal property taxes, and water and sewer service, according to court documents.

It's one of the largest claims filed this year in bankruptcy court by the county, which also has filed claims against Circuit City Stores Inc., S&K Famous Brands and LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., said Rhysa South, assistant county attorney.

"I consider the amount significant," South said.

Qimonda had been the county's single largest taxpayer. Henrico's operating budget is nearly $1.06 billion.

What's worrisome are the jobs lost and the ripple effect spreading through the region, county Finance Director John A. Vithoulkas said.

For every lost job, that means one less person who might shop locally or own a house, car or boat, all of which affects local tax revenue.

"The jobs overshadow the overall revenue loss in taxes," Vithoulkas said. "That's where the important number is, and that's where our concern has been all along."

Richmond's Department of Public Utilities filed a claim of $1.7 million, but the city didn't provide further details.

VCU's School of Engineering Foundation has a claim of $1.37 million for the unpaid balance on a fundraising campaign pledge.

Henrico and Richmond may fare better than some of Qimonda's other creditors because the majority of their claims are considered secured. Secured creditors typically are among the first to get paid when the estate is settled.

"The secured creditors [usually] get paid out in full," said Nathan B. Oman, an assistant law professor at the College of William and Mary. "It often means unsecured [claimants] don't get anything."

Or unsecured creditors may get pennies on the dollar of what they are owed, bankruptcy experts say.

The deadline to file claims was Thursday. More than 1,100 claims have been filed, including those from many local contractors and local companies.

Craftcorps, an Austin, Texas-based contract labor supplier that opened an office in Sandston to work specifically with Qimonda, is owed nearly $733,000.

The company set aside money and still is operating, but the economic slowdown has given the company a double whammy.

"We're not only fighting the Qimonda thing, we're fighting the recession, too," said Mark Mullen, a local field-operations manager at Craftcorps.

"I don't think we'll get all of it back," Mullen said of the company's claim against Qimonda. "I think we'll get some of it."

John Loftis feels the same way. His firm, Industrial Turnaround Corp. in Chester, is owed $38,355 by Qimonda.

Alone, the money won't cause significant damage to his company's operations, but the claim represents a trend. Of Industrial Turnaround's 20 or so clients, three are in bankruptcy and a half-dozen more are paying late.

"We've had a number of clients that have not been able to pay with the current economic downturn," said Loftis, the company's president.

Every payment counts. What Qimonda owes, he said, is "no longer a small amount."

Contact Emily C. Dooley at (804) 649-6016 or .