Some debt disputes and lawsuits have made the scene since an ownership change visited a broadcast facility and its media gateway operations in west Little Rock.
Matthew Davidge, through his Truro One LLC, is suing investors in the Soul of the South Network to recover $135,119 allegedly owed on a delinquent promissory note.
The debt originated on Oct. 24, 2014, as a $125,000 loan from Tyrone Burroughs of Memphis to the Soul of the South Network investors.
The Burroughs loan was secured by a mortgage on the 30,800-SF broadcast building at 1 Shackleford Drive, which Davidge bought in February. His Truro One acquired the Burroughs loan in May.
In a separate transaction back in February, Davidge bought out four of the five investors in SSN Media Gateway and renamed the operation Media Gateway.
Some of SSN Media’s pre-Davidge dealings spawned two lawsuits by Mediacom Communications Corp. of New York and a delinquent employee withholding claim of $27,752 by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
Mediacom’s lawsuits concern money allegedly owed on two dedicated internet access fiber agreements.
The claims are linked with SSN Media Gateway tapping service at the WGMD-FM facility in Lewes, Delaware, $46,952; and Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, $45,514.
According to the complaints, the lion’s share of the debts is associated with early termination fees. The claims stem from bills dating back to 2014 and into early 2015.
You might recall the SSN Media Gateway investors who sold to Davidge were Dr. Sev Hrywnak of Chicago, an entrepreneurial podiatrist; Edwin Avent of Baltimore, who helped launch Soul of the South Network; and two Little Rock businessman long associated with the property, Larry Morton and Greg Fess.
Under the heading of it’s a small world after all: the Little Rock law firm of Allen & Withrow is representing Mediacom in its litigation against SSN Media Gateway. Lori Withrow, one of Morton’s daughters, hangs her shingle at A&W.
Although legal paperwork concerning the tiffs predates Davidge entering the picture by a couple of months, the lawsuits didn’t get filed until several months after the ownership change.
Jeff Lyle, former managing partner of SSN Media Gateway and now Media Gateway partner with Davidge, signed the agreements with Mediacom.