Interstate Flooring is not connected to the Barker & Little foreclosures, according to an attorney for the North Dakota bank that foreclosed on the Rapid City property management company.

The Rapid City floor covering company was only named in the court filing because it had a judgment against Barker & Little and had a lien against the firm's property.

"They're not obligated in any sense. They're just another creditor," said Curtis Jensen, a Rapid City-based lawyer for First Bank & Trust of Fargo, N.D.

Earlier this year, Interstate Flooring got a court judgment against Barker & Little for non-payment of a bill totaling more than $9,000, according to Glen Hartson, Interstate Flooring sales manager and father of Troy Tordsen, owner of the business.

According to Hartson, the Hamilton-owned property company kept falling behind in payments, and representatives kept coming up with excuses for why they couldn't pay, including the claim the company was out of money.

Barker & Little tenants who received foreclosure notices from the bank could ask for court documents related to the court action. Those documents list Interstate Flooring as a defendant along with Barker & Little and owner Doug Hamilton.

Now, Interstate Flooring is publicly connected to the Barker & Little foreclosures, and that connection does not sit well with Hartson.

"We're a reputable company," he said.

Hartson said his company sold floor coverings to Barker & Little, a local property management company owned by Hamilton, and hired subcontractors to install the floor coverings in many of Hamilton's properties. But that is as far as the involvement goes.

"That's all we did," he said.

The Barker & Little foreclosures came to light when residents of the Star Village duplexes and Marquette Manor, among others, received notices from several banks stating their Barker & Little-owned properties were in foreclosure and notifying tenants to begin sending their rent payments to the banks.

Since the Rapid City Journal's Wednesday story about the foreclosures, additional tenants of Hamilton properties have claimed they have received similar letters.

The properties, all trailer parks, include Countryside Estates and Deluxe Mobile Home Park, both in Rapid City, and Wagon Wheel Village in Box Elder.

Call Jeremy Fugleberg at 394-8421 or e-mail him at jeremyfugleberg@rapidcityjournal.com

Editor's note: This story has been altered since its original publication to include clarification about Interstate Flooring's legal status from its attorney.