A Georgia company that placed $27.8 million with LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Inc. wants to appeal a bankruptcy court decision over ownership of the money. Millard Refrigerated Services Inc. has filed a request in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond to appeal a ruling that the money belongs to LandAmerica’s estate. The company is asking to bypass U.S. District Court and head directly to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also in Richmond, in order to speed up proceedings.

Customers of LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Inc. will have to wait a little longer to find out whether their money belongs to them or the bankrupt company’s estate. That was the primary question discussed during a nearly four-hour hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond yesterday. “The court has heard a lot today and I want to digest this,“ Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin R. Huennekens said. “It is not an easy answer.“

Customers owed money by the bankrupt LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Inc. will not get separate representation in bankruptcy court, a judge ruled yesterday. But fees and expenses for attorneys representing one test case will be paid, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Kevin R. Huennekens ruled in Richmond yesterday. The exchange company and its parent, Henrico County-based LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection Nov. 26. Since then, battle lines have been drawn between customers and creditors who are seeking money from the company. All have been represented by a committee of unsecured creditors.

Customers of LandAmerica 1031 Exchange Services Inc. want their money back. More than 50 complaints have been filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond since the company filed for Chapter 11 protection in late November. What happens in bankruptcy court here likely will have legal implications for more than those who filed the complaints. A ruling could set precedent and affect future bankruptcy court decisions.