C.M. Smillie & Co. survived two world wars, the Great Depression and the perilous ups and downs of the auto industry.
But it couldn't survive the Smillie family.
The Ferndale, Mich., supplier has been closed since January, and creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition Feb. 22.
Family fighting, lawsuits, a failed loan deal and the downturn in the economy have put the old survivor in a place it avoided for 113 years: the graveyard of suppliers that couldn't survive a recession.
Court records and interviews with family members, attorneys and creditors paint a picture of a once-proud company that didn't stand a chance after it was depleted by costly lawsuits and a receivership that arose from family dissent.
It's a case where everyone lost. Investors and vendors lost money. Smillie family members lost their savings. About 60 employees lost jobs.
The third-generation owner, C.M. Smillie III, lost his retirement.
``It's a human tragedy,'' said Dennis Rauss, one of the attorneys involved in the case. ``It's like the old TV show `Dallas. '''
No one interviewed thought it would end that way when the fourth generation took over in November 1993.
The company faced a crisis in 1993 after C.M. Smillie III, known as Chuck, made bad investments with the company's pension fund. Chuck Smillie needed to replace the money, but the company was struggling, according to a June 2000 opinion by Oakland County, Mich., Circuit Judge Richard Kuhn.
C.M. Smillie & Co.'s bank, First of America in Kalamazoo, Mich., said it was terminating its relationship with the company.
The company also had problems paying creditors and needed cash, according to Kuhn's opinion.
The solution: Bettie Smillie, Chuck's ex-wife, would invest about $1 million, own the company's building and receive lease payments. Sons Scott, Greg and Brad …
