A company owned by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D., Mo.) has requested the dismissal of a case over $1.5 million related to an overdue loan issued by Bank of America. The bank says the company has struggled to make payments on the loan since it was taken out 10 years ago, The Hill reports:
Bank of America loaned The Cleaver Company $1.35 million in 2002, before Cleaver was elected to Congress, and its suit argues that the company has had trouble making payments throughout the life of the loan. The loan was backed by the Small Business Administration, which means if Cleaver's company defaults, the SBA could pay off about $1.1 million.
The Cleaver Company used the money to buy a car wash in Missouri.
According to the Kansas City Star, lawyers for The Cleaver Company asked a judge to dismiss the case entirely, and award legal costs to the company. In contrast, Bank of America has asked the court to put the car wash into receivership, although the judge rejected that request earlier this year.
A trial is set for April 2013.
