The landlord for the California headquarters of former electric vehicle maker Fisker says the building “has been left in complete disarray” since the company filed for bankruptcy.
In a Friday court filing, Tony Lenzini of Shamrock Properties included photos of what the office allegedly looked like in La Palma on Sept. 27, the day Fisker turned over the keys. He detailed how his company “now faces tens of thousands of dollars in cleanup costs, damage repairs, and what appears to me to be hazardous waste removal.”
The pictures show car parts and models, boxes, papers, folders, disposable cups and much more just strewn about.
Since Sept. 27, Lenzini said strangers have been contacting him asking for access to the property.
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“I’ve received multiple calls from individuals claiming they still have items in the building,” he wrote.
“For example, I have been contacted by multiple people claiming to be Fisker dealers requesting access to pick up spare parts and other items in the building,” he added. “I have also been contacted by people claiming to be ex-employees requesting access to take spare parts out of the building. I even was contacted by someone who identified themself as a Fisker employee asking if Henrik Fisker could retrieve items from the building.”
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Fisker’s former headquarters is nearly 79,000 square feet, according to SFGate. The California-based electric vehicle startup filed for bankruptcy protection back in June after hemorrhaging cash on its Ocean SUV line in the U.S. and Canada.
The company joined other would-be Tesla competitors such as Proterra, Lordstown and Electric Last Mile Solutions, which each went bankrupt in the past two years after depleting cash reserves, fundraising hurdles and production challenges related to global supply-chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fisker vehicles were also under investigation by U.S. regulators.
In March, Fisker slashed prices for its fleet of Ocean electric SUVs in the U.S. in an effort to stave off bankruptcy.
The company has issued multiple recalls this year to fix issues related to door handles, faulty software and noncompliance with safety standards.
The U.S. Department of Justice said in a court filing on Monday that Fisker’s plan to pass on the costs of vehicle recalls to customers is illegal.
As a part of Fisker’s bankruptcy plan, the manufacturer is required to remedy defective and noncompliant vehicles “without charge when the vehicle … is presented for remedy,” the filing said.
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Fisker is also being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which objected to the liquidation plan, citing the lack of clarity on how and whether Fisker intends to preserve its corporate records.
FOX Business’ Chris Pandolfo and Reuters contributed to this report.
