NORFOLK — A former Norfolk wedding shop owner who left brides in a panic when she locked the doors of her store last week is about $200,000 in debt to ex-employees who weren’t getting paid for their work and landlords for unpaid rent, court documents show.
On Wednesday, Southside Daily reported that House of Maya owner Maya Holihan surrendered her business assets to Old Point National Bank on Aug. 25.
The move came about six months after Holihan announced that she would be bringing her business to 258 Granby St. as a consolidated headquarters for four of her salons, Pure English Couture Bridal, Silk Social Occasion, Maya Couture and Maya Couture on Main.
She touted the 13,000-square-foot shop as a place that would serve as her headquarters, allowing for a more “streamlined and efficient” operation; however, court documents show the move came in the midst of civil actions filed against Holihan by property owners at all four salon locations.
In the first 24 hours that Holihan’s business asset surrender was reported by Southside Daily, more than 35 brides reached out to the news organization in search of wedding dresses.
Since then, Old Point National Bank staff have come into the store, putting number crunching on the back burner to locate wedding dress orders and make sure gown alterations are finished for brides getting married in the upcoming days and weeks.
Two former House of Maya employees also contacted Southside Daily to speak about their experiences working for Holihan without pay. Both women provided Southside Daily with proof of their former employment under Holihan, and the news organization has granted them anonymity because they say they still haven’t received compensation.
Southside Daily has also uncovered 10 civil claims and lawsuits filed against Holihan — seven of which have never been reported on — by ex-workers and rental companies in Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Suffolk.
In all of those cases, except two that are still active, judges ruled in favor of the people and companies who were seeking the money, which totaled more than $200,000.
“As a creditor, we were aware that Maya was having financial difficulties specific to Old Point, but we had no knowledge of the specific nature and extent of claims outside our organization,” bank spokesperson Erin Black wrote in an email.
Documents and emails show employees weren’t getting paid
It’s difficult for Elizabeth to talk about her former employer without becoming upset. She worked with Holihan for several years and says that her loyalty to House of Maya runs very deep.
Still, she claims she hasn’t been paid for thousands of dollars in work.
Elizabeth and another ex-employee — Lauren — contacted Southside Daily and told the news organization that Holihan stopped paying her employees their regular wages in May.
Their claim is backed up by two lawsuits recently won by other ex-employees in Norfolk for more than $8,600 and by emails obtained by Southside Daily in which Holihan told some employees that their funds were not yet available.
“We’re not selling enough to pay back all of you,” Holihan wrote. “This is why I made the offer for you to come back, sell a few gowns and keep 100 percent of the income. We could easily take more appointments, but we don’t have enough staff, and I can’t very well go hire new employees when I still owe you money.”
“You’re asking for somebody to come in and work for money that they’ve already worked for,” Elizabeth said of Holihan to Southside Daily.
Lauren said that Holihan quit using a payroll company to issue employee paychecks in March, paying them with wire transfers, personal checks and cash.
“It was a little bit off,” Lauren said. “Starting with one of the paychecks in May, we weren’t paid at all.”
Elizabeth said that she, Lauren and at least nine other employees are still owed money by Holihan.
“When I resigned, I was told, ‘Well I’m sorry to see you go, but I did tell you guys if you couldn’t take the heat you should get out of the kitchen,'” Elizabeth said.
Two other ex-workers filed civil claims against Holihan in June for debts she owed them, according to documents filed in Norfolk General District Court.
On June 16, Brindley Lowe filed a civil claim for $1,793 owed to her by Holihan. Court documents show that a judge ruled in favor of Lowe and ordered Holihan to pay the woman the money owed to her, as well as interest and court costs — bringing the total to nearly $2,000.
On June 27, another ex-worker named Melanie Cornelisse filed a civil claim for $6,898.50 against Holihan. Court documents show the money was owed to Cornelisse for invoices taken at Maya Couture beginning in December of 2016 and ending in June of 2017.
Of the $9,988.50 in invoices that Cornelisse billed to Holihan, she was only paid $3,200. The money came in the form of wire payments and cash, and did not cover the $110 in charges Cornelisse paid in wire money fees, parking and an overdraft charge for a $1,787.50 check that bounced after Holihan wrote it, court documents state.
On July 25, a Norfolk judge issued a default judgment favoring Cornelisse and ordering Holihan to pay the woman back the $6,898.50 owed to her, as well as interest and court costs, according to court documents.
Neither Lowe or Cornelisse responded to a request for comment made by Southside Daily.
Debt rises as landlords seek unpaid rent
Other lawsuits and civil actions against Holihan show that her debt is deeper than the $87,000 reported by Southside Daily on Tuesday.
In the first article, Southside Daily reported on two lawsuits and a civil action filed against Holihan for credit card debt owed to American Express Bank and unpaid rent owed to her former landlord, Palace Station LLC, according to documents filed in Norfolk Circuit Court.
In both lawsuits, judges ruled in favor of the companies after Holihan failed to respond to the court by set deadlines.
A third civil action was filed against Holihan in Norfolk on July 27. The action was filed on behalf of Palace Station, which continued to seek debt collection for Holihan’s unpaid rent at a property located at 350 W. 22nd St. in Norfolk where she ran Privée Bride of Ghent, court documents show.
That action is still active and is scheduled to be heard in Norfolk Circuit Court on Sept. 14.
Other civil actions awarded to property companies by judges in recent months show that Holihan failed to pay portions of her rent at other salon locations, too.
The largest of the lawsuits was filed against Holihan in Suffolk by 139 North Main Street LLC in April.
According to documents filed in Suffolk Circuit Court, the company said Holihan signed a five-year lease on Aug. 12, 2015 for a property at 147 and 149 North Main Street where she ran her boutique, Maya Couture on Main.
On March 3, the company tried to cash a check that Holian wrote for February’s rent, but the check bounced. She continued to fail to pay her rent, leading the company to sue her for all of the money she would owe had she fulfilled her lease until 2020, court documents state.
A judge issued a default judgment in favor of the property company on July 24, ruling that Holihan owes them $107,470 plus interest.
Holihan has also been ordered to pay several thousand dollars to company Chambord Commons LLC for debts related to her boutique Silk Bridal Consignment, according to documents filed in Virginia Beach General District Court.
The Virginia Beach company first filed a civil claim against Holihan on March 9 for $3,679, which was awarded to the company in a default judgment issued on June 14. The company filed another civil claim against her on June 30, that time demanding $5,501.70 in unpaid rent, according to court documents.
“This notice is to inform you that Select Realty has not received your rent payment for the current month or you have a past due balance,” a June 14 letter from a debt collector reads.
A judge issued another default judgment in favor of the property company on Aug. 22.
In Norfolk, Holihan is still in active litigation with Executive Park Co. LLLP for the property at 435 N. Military Highway where her old flagship store — Maya Couture — was once located.
The company first filed suit against Holihan on Jan. 31 for $9,969.11 in unpaid rent. That case was dismissed on March 1 after the company wrote the court a letter, court documents state.
“Please remove this case from the docket as dismissed/settled,” a letter states, which was written on Feb. 28 by David A. Greer PLC, who represented Executive Park.
The company again filed a civil action against Holihan again on May 1 and was awarded $22,474.90 in a default judgment plus court costs and interest on May 24, according to the General District Court Online Case Information System.
Holihan is scheduled to appear in Norfolk General District Court on Sept. 12 in a hearing that is related to the May 1 action. She is scheduled to tell a judge why she should not have to pay $28,699.09 to Executive Park. On that same day, there is a hearing for an “interrogatory,” meaning that a judge will seek further information on the matter.
Holihan did not respond to several requests for comment made by Southside Daily.
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