Wedding Venue Operator Goes Belly Up After Knowingly Pocketing Customer Cash While In Foreclosure, Leaving Brides Scrambling For New Place To Tie Knot

In Memphis, Tennessee, WMC-TV Channel 5 reports:

• The owner of a Memphis wedding venue knew her business was going into foreclosure months before the brides who booked with her knew. Brides who spent thousands of dollars just to reserve Le Pavillion have been abandoned by the well known Memphis attorney who owned the building. The event venue in East Memphis is in foreclosure.



• "The most disturbing part is that the foreclosure happened in November and nobody told us," said bride Stephanie Maynard. "They still collected our second half of the payment in January."



• Action News 5's investigation revealed the building was owned by Memphis attorney Gail Mathes. Brides never imagined that in October of last year, Mathes would begin foreclosure proceedings and abandon her East Memphis real estate with almost $90,000 in back property taxes. A foreclosure document, which ironically reads "to have and to hold," is the legal transfer of Le Pavillion to Commercial Bank and Trust. Mathes no longer occupies her downtown Memphis office. She did not answer her cell phone Thursday and no one answered at Le Pavillion.



• Now, brides who are out thousands of dollars in deposits are scrambling to find another place to tie the knot. Mathes did not return Action News 5's calls Thursday. Documents show she also began bankruptcy proceedings but missed a filing deadline that would have protected her from creditors.

Source: Brides left scrambling after East Memphis wedding venue foreclosed.