Oak Ridge painting company files bankruptcy amid unpaid work complaints

Oak Ridge Painting Co.’s bankruptcy has turned months of unpaid-work complaints in Guilford County into a formal court case that could leave homeowners, employees, subcontractors and suppliers waiting a long time to recover money. The Greensboro painting company filed a voluntary Chapter 7 case in the Middle District of North Carolina on May 26, and the bankruptcy notice was time-stamped at 5:49 p.m.

The 60-page filing lists 90 creditors and names owner Matt Rossman. It says the company owes more than $330,000, with individual claims running from several thousand dollars to more than $12,000. Sherwin-Williams is listed for $10,130 in supplies, and the paperwork also cites missed paychecks for employees. The filing indicates no property appears to be available to pay creditors, which means many customers and vendors are likely to be part of a long queue with no clear path to getting paid in full.

For Guilford County homeowners, the collapse matters because some say they paid deposits and received little or no work in return. One customer said they paid $8,550 and got no services. Another said the company took 50% of a $2,500 job and then stopped communicating. Those complaints match a burst of recent frustration from people who said calls went unanswered, the company website disappeared, and emails bounced back.

The business, which had been operating since 2023, was based on Elm Street in downtown Greensboro and had carried an A rating with the Better Business Bureau before the complaints surged. The bureau was handling four complaints, and Yelp listed the company as closed, underscoring that the bankruptcy followed more than a single disputed job.

Chapter 7 cases do not erase the harm for the people left unpaid, and the automatic stay now blocks most collection efforts while the case is active. That means creditors cannot simply sue or repossess to force payment. Instead, they will have to wait through the bankruptcy process and file claims if they hope to recover anything.

The next major date in the case is a creditors meeting scheduled for June 29, 2026, by Zoom. For Guilford County customers who paid deposits, workers who missed paychecks and suppliers who delivered materials, that meeting is the first formal step in a case that could determine how much, if anything, gets returned.