In the unfolding bankruptcy of Electriq Power Inc., a company that put solar panels on Santa Barbara rooftops for free, a sale of the company’s inventory stored in a San Leandro warehouse netted $4.9 million, excluding litigation claims, bankruptcy trustee Robert Furr said in an email this week. The sale represents about seven cents on the dollar given that the original bankruptcy filing on May 3 indicated Electriq’s creditors were owed about $70 million.
In order to ensure they were paid, one of those creditors, Axiom360 of Grover Beach, filed mechanics liens against some of the homeowners who received the free solar installation. Brandon Hoffman, CEO of Axiom, said he had no update to change the lien situation, but his “legal team is actively working toward resolving this without impacting our community.”
On July 12 and 18, at the direction of the Southern Florida Bankruptcy Court, where this case is filed, Furr sent about 480 Electriq customers an email explaining that he had received numerous requests for help. He could not operate the business, help with mechanics liens, or get their solar-power system running, Furr wrote. “What I can do is pay you damages if you have a valid claim, as long as you file a Proof of Claim with the Bankruptcy Court” by August 9, 2024.