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Court approves plan for Robert Levin to buy back furniture stores, compensate customers

Posted at 1:37 PM, May 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-28 19:37:54-04

CLEVELAND — A Delaware court judge approved the purchase of Levin Furniture from former owner and president of Pittsburgh-based company, Robert Levin, after the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which left dozens of customers out thousands of dollars in purchases of furniture they never received.

Earlier this year, News 5 confirmed Levin was coming out of retirementto purchase his assets from Art Van, the parent company of Levin Furniture.

Court records show the purchase deal is worth nearly $26 million. The company will use a fund of $10 million to pay back customers who haven’t received their furniture.

According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, nearly 100 people from across the state, many of them from Northeast Ohio, have filed complaints against Levin.

5 on Your Side Investigator Jonathan Walsh spoke to several people from Greater Cleveland, including Danny Wyatt, 57, from Elyria, who had bought $2,800 worth of furniture from the Avon Levin store in late February.

The delivery was supposed to be “ASAP,” according to Wyatt’s paperwork. “I called and they said well, since the coronavirus came up that… it’ll be a little late,” Wyatt explained. Wyatt said they pushed his delivery from March to April, but, in April, they closed their doors.

“I thank God that I don’t have to wait 1or 2 years to get my money back and..I just don’t have the words to tell you how much I’m just happy," said Wyatt, reacting to the Levin buyback deal.

News 5 has reached out to Levin headquarters and the bankruptcy attorneys, but haven't heard back yet.

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