The foreclosure auction for the Columbia Gorge Hotel was postponed on Tuesday by news that owners Halla and Boyd Graves had filed for bankruptcy.

About 25 people were gathered on the steps of the Hood River County Courthouse to learn who the new owners would be.

Instead they were told by Tom Gerber, a trustee for ShoreBank Pacific, that the Graves had sought Chapter 7 protection the prior day in a Portland federal court.

“There is now a federal injunction against proceeding with this sale,” said Gerber.

He said, if permission was granted from a judge, the auction would take place at 10 a.m. on July 20 in the same location.

Once the Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is filed, most legal actions are “stayed”, and most creditors cannot start or continue lawsuits, garnishee wages, or even make telephone calls demanding payment.

A meeting of creditors is generally held 20 to 40 days after the petition is filed.

At the conclusion of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process, the debtor is discharged. The debtor is no longer liable for discharged debts, and creditors are prevented from taking any action against the debtor.

For more see the July 1, 2009 Hood River News.

Correction printed in the July 8 edition:

A July 1 article on Columbia Gorge Hotel should have stated that owners Boyd and Halla Graves voluntarily closed their doors when they lost winter financing, and asked Shore Bank to arrange for the continued care and security of the property.

At the time the hotel closed, a sale for $10 million had just failed due to a change of terms at closing, according to Halla Graves. Two subsequent sale offers failed when the buyers were unable to obtain financing.