A federal appeals court has upheld a $31 million judgment against former NASCAR team owner Ronald Devine and his associates for what judges called a “pattern of bad faith” during bankruptcy proceedings of his former race team, BK Racing.
The ruling, issued Friday by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, comes as Devine faces federal criminal charges for allegedly failing to pay employee payroll taxes.
The appeals court agreed with a bankruptcy court’s 2022 decision to impose the hefty default judgment after finding that Devine and his co-defendants repeatedly failed to comply with court orders and discovery requests during proceedings that began when BK Racing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018.
The ruling detailed how Devine threatened to “let the lawyers fight forever” and refused to disclose financial records that would have revealed millions in transfers between his various business entities. The court found Devine used multiple corporations and family trusts as alter egos to siphon approximately $6.4 million from BK Racing.
— WCNC —