Denny Hecker expected to file bankruptcy

Minnesota auto dealer Denny Hecker is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for several of his businesses as soon as today, according to the Star Tribune.

Earlier today, Hecker filed a federal lawsuit against its financier Chrysler Financial Services "for allegedly acting in bad faith after it froze Hecker's credit lines, affecting his rental car business, fleet sales business and 13 Hecker dealerships including one in California," the Strib says.

More from the Strib:

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Chrysler Financial arbitrarily, "suddenly and without notice" put Hecker's credit lines on hold, which effectively froze his "auto floor plan" financing, the mechanism by which dealerships pay for their inventories. The complaint also alleges that Chrysler notified the manufacturers of Hecker's auto dealerships that it had suspended the floor plan credit lines.

"By suspending these credit lines, Hecker and his companies were unable to finance the purchase of new vehicles that were produced by these manufacturers," the complaint says, adding that this "resulted in significant damage to Hecker and his businesses."

MinnPost is also starting to speculate what this could mean for the Twin Cities media community. Hecker is a big advertiser in the dailies.

The Denny Hecker Automotive Group currently owns 18 Minnesota dealerships and three in California.