A lawsuit filed Monday in Polk County District Court by an Audubon couple claims an equity company owes them $500,000 in defaulted loans. The Des Moines Register reports in today’s (Saturday’s) edition, that the suit was filed by Gary and Marlene Stearns. It accuses Ladco Capital, Inc. of failing to make payments on nine loans provided by the Stearnses to the company, from December 2006 until January 2011.

Last month a Minnesota bank filed for foreclosure against Ladco-affiliated companies, including Ladco Capital, claiming the company defaulted on three loans amounting to $4.6-million. The banks’ lawsuit asks for foreclosure and sheriff’s sale on a Ladco-owned property and judgement for principal and interest in the amount of $5.5-million. An attorney for Ladco said persons who loaned money to the company have formed a committee to determine how much money if any, can be salvaged from the company. The couple from Audubon have decided not to join that committee, hoping instead to recover their losses through their separate lawsuit.

The Stearnses filed for personal liquidation of their debts last December, and a bankruptcy judge discharged those debts last month. But that hasn’t stopped creditors of the various Ladco companies from filing against the Audubon couple.