We kind of figured there was something suspicious about the timing of Burton-Katzman’s bankruptcy filing last week.

Well, it turns out  it was a looming court-ordered deadline of Sept. 1 to pay the City of Dearborn $5 million in penalties related to the unbuilt development project in west Dearborn that triggered the bankruptcy filing, according to the City of Dearborn.

Instead of paying the fine, the Burton-Katzman company (West Village Commons, LLC, and Westminister Homes LLC) on Aug. 26 filed bankruptcy under Chapter 7.

“The City believes the Aug. 26 bankruptcy filing was a strategic move to avoid paying the $5 million due on Sept. 1,” the city said in a statement issued Monday.

City officials in a statement say they still plan to hold the individuals and other entities behind Burton-Katzman Development Company, Inc. responsible for the court-ordered payment and other court-ordered provisions.

For a bit more on the history behind this battle, click the link below.

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In a move that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those who have been following the very public fight between the city of Dearborn and developer Burton-Katzman, three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy includes West Village Commons LLC, the entity developing a mixed-use project in Dearborn. The LLC lists $3.5 million in assets, mostly land, and $11.2 million in secured and unsecured debts, according to Crain’s.

West Village Commons LLC is one of three of the Bingham Farms corporate entities controlled by Peter Burton, Bob Katzman and other investors who filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Thursday.

We have written here many times about the court fight between Burton-Katzman and the city of Dearborn, in which the city won a court order to force the developers to complete two buildings agreed to under a contract with the city. Even the 75,000-square-foot building, currently on the site, isn’t fully developed.

The bankruptcy move by Burton-Katzman was no doubt a way to avoid having to abide by that court order to finish the Dearborn development.

Also filing is Westminster Homes LLC, a home development arm used by the group of investors, which lists $225,000 in assets and $1.4 million in debt, according to Crain’s.

Burton-Katzman Development Co. also filed bankruptcy, but it apparently has no assets.