Logan T. Grizzell, litigation attorney, Scott Wolfson, receiver in the Bark River Knives case, and Adrianne N. Wolf, attorney for K Enterprises, appeared via Zoom in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court on Tuesday. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)

ESCANABA — A new development in the Bark River Knives receivership case was addressed Tuesday in Delta County Circuit Court, where Judge John Economopoulos approved the appointment of legal counsel for the court-appointed receiver overseeing the company’s remaining assets.

Receiver Scott Wolfson was appointed in May to take control of equipment and other assets left behind by Bark River Knives, also referred to as Stewart Knives, after the company was evicted from its Escanaba facility for unpaid rent.

Tuesday’s hearing followed Bark River Knives’ departure from the building at 6911 County Road 426 M.5 Road, a property owned by K Enterprises.

The knife company allegedly left behind equipment and other personal property after Michael “Mike” Stewart, co-founder and owner of Bark River Knives, ceased operations in March.

Wolfson told the court he recently inspected the property and the assets remaining inside.

“For a quick update, I met with the landlord’s representatives last week at the property,” Wolfson said. “Dale Gartland and Ken Garltand have been very helpful. I toured the property and the premises with them… inspected the property and equipment last week along with another potential auctioneer or purchaser of the property.”

Wolfson also said the Gartlands are seeking to sell the building as soon as possible.

“We’ve also been contacting dozens of reportedly secured creditors who have filed UCC credit statements, asking them to come forward with whether they claim they are still owed debt,” Wolfson added.

As receiver, Wolfson is responsible for inventorying and selling the equipment and property remaining at the site. Proceeds from those sales will be distributed among creditors with valid claims against Bark River Knives.

Previous court statements estimated the value of the remaining equipment and property at approximately $250,000.

Wolfson also informed the court that Bark River Knives has retained legal counsel, although neither company representatives nor its attorneys attended Tuesday’s hearing.

Economopoulos ultimately approved the appointment of counsel for the receiver, noting the legal complexities involved in administering the receivership.

“The legal intricacies associated with the receiver’s duty sometimes require proper counsel and advice, this being one of those cases, so that the assets are not corrupted and wasted is the best mechanism by which the purpose of the receivership can be perfected,” Economopoulos said.

The appointment of legal counsel for the receiver marks the latest chapter in the fallout from Bark River Knives’ closure, which was widely reported on in the local and national knife community.

Upon announcing the company’s closure in March, Stewart admitted to using an alternate Chinese steel in some knife production, which affected models Camp Bolo, Fox River Trailing Point, Highwayman 4, Mini-Manitou, Gladstone Hunter, Bitterroot Caper and the last two Club Knives.

Stewart also said the steel had been mismarked and his distributors were unaware of the issue.

Following the announcement, J Rouch, CEO of KnivesShipFree, one of Bark River Knives’ previous distributors, said the closure left his company facing financial losses and damaged customer relationships.

Rouch also said he had observed a decline in the quality of some knives prior to the company’s closure.

The Daily Press will continue monitoring the Bark River Knives case for updates.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.