Copyright MassLive
Dr. Phil, whose full name is Phil McGraw, was denied approval to keep his startup media Merit Street Media in Chapter 11, a federal judge in Texas ruled on Tuesday. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Scott Everett ordered that McGraw’s case will instead move forward as a Chapter 7 liquidation to repay creditors. Notable creditors include Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), which invested over $100 million, and Professional Bull Riders (PBR), which claims it is owed $181 million, according to Variety. During the trial, Everett cited McGraw’s deleted text messages describing his plan to use bankruptcy to “wipe out” creditor claims, a strategy McGraw called a “gangster move.” Everett also declared the business was ‘dead as a doornail’ when it filed for bankruptcy, Variety reported. A spokesperson for McGraw and his company, Peteski Productions, told the Hollywood Reporter that the decision will be appealed. “We take great exception to the court’s improper assertions regarding the alleged destruction of evidence, which simply did not happen,” the spokesperson said. “We will not let this stand given all that Dr. Phil and Peteski Productions have done to protect Merit Street employees, distributors and other interested parties and to resolve this unfortunate situation.”
