The owner of the company that operated the Piggly Wiggly supermarket in Clay allegedly owes United Dairy thousands of dollars, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit in Kanawha Circuit Court names Drema Clifton and Clay Supermarket Inc., which was the business name Clifton used to operate the Piggly Wiggly, as defendants.
The store closed in March last year, leaving many residents dozens of miles from a super market and wondering why. It was the only grocery store in Clay County.
An IGA opened in the space in late summer.
United Dairy provided products to Clifton's store from Aug. 30, 2014 through Feb. 7 last year, according to the complaint. She allegedly owes United Dairy $24,415.
In November, the lawsuit states, Clay Supermarket Inc.'s corporate charter was revoked for failure to file an annual report.
Therefore, Clifton "is personally liable for this debt as she has lost her corporate protections," the lawsuit states. United Dairy, an Ohio company that also has an office in Charleston, is represented by Charleston attorney Scott Kaminski.
A nearly $6,000 payment Clifton sent to United Dairy was returned for insufficient funds, according to the lawsuit. Clifton could not be reached Tuesday.
Clifton leased the property that housed the Piggly Wiggly from BB&M Trucking Co. When the store closed, Clifton still had more than two years left on her lease, a BB&M employee said at the time.
BB&M filed a lawsuit against her last year in Clay County, claiming she never paid back the nearly $2,000 in property taxes it paid for her.
In May last year, this newspaper reported that Clay Supermarket Inc. owed a total of $6,989 in property taxes, according to the Clay County Assessor's Office.
United Dairy filed its complaint in Kanawha because it has an office there and it says that's where the agreement with Clifton was signed. The case is assigned to Judge Tod Kaufman.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or @KateLWhite on Twitter.