Update: After going through several attorneys at the Kansas Attorney General's office and noting little progress to date, the local Reno County judiciary has put Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves in receivership. This is an effort to consolidate the 15+ local Reno County civil lawsuits, and indirectly address the 45+ open claims with the Kansas AG's office.
With that in mind, for those that have a claim against Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves, please contact Tom Arnhold, the attorney charged with managing the receivership:
Thomas D. Arnhold
330 West 1st Avenue
Hutchinson, KS 67501
620-662-5489
tarnhold@kslawyer.net
Even you have an open claim with the KS AG's office, please contact Mr. Arnhold so that you have both avenues engaged, as it is uncertain "who will get there first" with regard to settling any civil or criminal case regarding STVS at this time.
Also, the Hutchinson News has run another article on the Vintage Stoves story, and has expanded a bit on this new development:
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/stovesat
As always, we are also trying to keep everyone up to date via the blog at:
http://growabrain.typepad.com/growabrai ... bloom.html
Good luck,
Al
Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves - Be Aware
Moderators: oldhouse, TinaB, Don M, Schag
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al_roethlisberger
- Posts: 926
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Re: Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves - Be Aware
I think that you guys should tie him up and burn him at the stake. 
I do not personally know the guy but from what it sounds like is that he started a hobby from his garage and turned it into a business which is what the American dream is all about.
The problem is with that kind of business is that he seemed to rely on outside contracting for the porcelains,chrome etc. when you do that you are at the mercy of the outside supplier with delays quality control etc.
Its one thing to know how to restore a stove or anything else for that matter but to make a business out of it is a whole different matter.From what I have seen of his early work it was excellent workmanship,he just seemed to have little business sense and towards the end started to rob from peter to pay paul and everything snowballed from there,it does not make him the devil it just makes him a poor business person,thousands like him before and there will be thousands after.
I'm not taking any sides and I hope that everybody gets their monies or merchandise back,but on a side note I'm not a rich man and the last thing I would do is send somebody 12k for a stove without being there,at the time the plane flights were cheap.
As for the owner of the property, condos would have made him a hell of alot more monies then collected rents and he could of fought for years to evict a tenant so I'm sorry I see motive on that part also.
Its sad to see stuff like this happening and through out the years its a continual process.
47 cases against the guy and all those 47 cases nobody said hey cant we get together and rent a warehouse for a month so this can be resolved?,I don't know there seems to be a ton of dollars involved in that kind of business in all those 47 people theres nobody with at least a little bit
of business sense,accounting sense and somebody with a bit of organizational skills,I guess its all Mott because it is easier to organize a witch hunt where nobody gets paid then a resolution where everybody gets paid and just maybe with a little profit?
I would be willing to bet allbeit not much but if someone were to figure out the amount of man hours and long distance calls and taxpayers dollars being spent on this the total would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect in the end what will amount to pennies on the dollar if that.
Just my 06c worth
I do not personally know the guy but from what it sounds like is that he started a hobby from his garage and turned it into a business which is what the American dream is all about.
The problem is with that kind of business is that he seemed to rely on outside contracting for the porcelains,chrome etc. when you do that you are at the mercy of the outside supplier with delays quality control etc.
Its one thing to know how to restore a stove or anything else for that matter but to make a business out of it is a whole different matter.From what I have seen of his early work it was excellent workmanship,he just seemed to have little business sense and towards the end started to rob from peter to pay paul and everything snowballed from there,it does not make him the devil it just makes him a poor business person,thousands like him before and there will be thousands after.
I'm not taking any sides and I hope that everybody gets their monies or merchandise back,but on a side note I'm not a rich man and the last thing I would do is send somebody 12k for a stove without being there,at the time the plane flights were cheap.
As for the owner of the property, condos would have made him a hell of alot more monies then collected rents and he could of fought for years to evict a tenant so I'm sorry I see motive on that part also.
Its sad to see stuff like this happening and through out the years its a continual process.
47 cases against the guy and all those 47 cases nobody said hey cant we get together and rent a warehouse for a month so this can be resolved?,I don't know there seems to be a ton of dollars involved in that kind of business in all those 47 people theres nobody with at least a little bit
of business sense,accounting sense and somebody with a bit of organizational skills,I guess its all Mott because it is easier to organize a witch hunt where nobody gets paid then a resolution where everybody gets paid and just maybe with a little profit?
I would be willing to bet allbeit not much but if someone were to figure out the amount of man hours and long distance calls and taxpayers dollars being spent on this the total would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect in the end what will amount to pennies on the dollar if that.
Just my 06c worth
1915 Dormitory
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al_roethlisberger
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:33 pm
- Location: Sanford, NC
- Contact:
Re: Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves - Be Aware
Well, I suppose some of the points made above are a reasonable perspective for some similar scenarios, however I also think they ignore some significant "red flags" that make this a little different than simply dismissing this as little more than the typical innocent failed small business.
The point about this being a "typical cottage industry that failed due to bad planning" is well taken, and is something that many, including myself, have mentioned several times is no doubt part of the story. And as intelligent individuals, we recognize that happens every day. Indeed, most small businesses fail within the first few years. But that isn't the whole story.
The extenuating circumstance here is a rather seeming intent to defraud, which is debatable, but what the courts are for. Also it is apparent from a variety of sources, including STR himself, that there were some personal issues that seemed to also play a part. I'll save the readers here a lengthy response citing every detail and milestone over the last 2 years, but if one is interested and takes the time to read the year-long blog linked above, I think it will become evident that at some point in Vintage Stove's demise, Stevan Thomas Radakovich(STR) moved from a simple case of mismanaged growing cottage business to something else entirely more nefarious.
It's one thing when an honest hard-working business owner does all they can to serve their customers and nurse their business through hard times, even if it fails. But it is entirely a different story once the owner appears to deceive, mislead, and leaves a large portion of his customers without any satisfaction.
After all, how many customers does one think Vintage Stoves had in a given year? 10? 20? ... maybe 30? Remember, as was pointed out in the post above so graciously
... how many people are willing to spend 5, 10, or $20 ,000 on an old stove? I suspect not too many, just because of the economics if nothing else, not to mention other competition. In fact, I bet the total annual "vintage stove market" is 50 or less for all vendors combined.
With that in mind, consider the 45+ claimants that we know of, and it is evident that STR did not just lose the good fight at the very end. This is a large portion of the last year or two worth of total customers. That does not, to me anyway, indicate a businessman focused on providing and delivering good service up until the very end. This is systemic. And that is a bit different than that cottage industry, with best intentions, that just can't quite make it. Something else, and I daresay fraud(maybe not initially intended, but evidenced at the end), may be that extra ingredient that makes this case a bit more than a simply small business failure. And finally, if this were just a case of the last few customers that got shut out when the business finally folded, with the owner doing all he could to make it right within reason, we wouldn't see 45+ claims with the KSAG, we'd see what.... 5, maybe 10?
Now, some are certainly more personally upset with STR than others, others have put this entirely behind them, while other dispositions run the gamut in between. That's just human nature. But most I have conversed with have a pretty pragmatic and surprisingly reasonable perspective on this. Even many of them, to your point, just indeed chalk this up to "its just business" and are letting the legal system handle this. Although to suggest they don't take this very seriously would be inaccurate as well. But I have to differ with any characterization of this as a witch-hunt, or that the 45+ claimants have no business sense and they somehow have contributed to their plight. Many victims are successful business owners, attorneys, and professionals in their own right, along with just average families, but they weren't fools. To suggest that is to blame the victim, and distract from the real issue of what many contend has been out-right criminal behavior. Even at best if we discount any intent to defraud, and to the point of the post above, it is still a civil case where the business has an unfulfilled obligation. This is not the fault of the customer, and they have a legitimate claim.
But for example, reports suggesting the selling a $20k+ stove that doesn't exist, or reportedly putting a customer's stove in hock at a local pawn shop is not simply mismanagement. It moves beyond poor business sense at that point.
Also remember that Vintage Stoves had some impressive "references" as well, plus STR was a very slick salesman, a very good "confidence man". One could certainly argue, and many have admitted, that many of us(claimants) could have done many things differently along the way to protect ourselves. Hindsight is always 20/20. But touching on the "give the small business guy the benefit of doubt" angle suggested in the post above, many customers did exactly that. They chose to send a check versus charge a credit card when STR explained his challenges there, or they agreed multiple times to accept a delay in delivery after numerous excuses, or they listened while STR explained how he's just gotten behind, etc.... And many simply hoped beyond hope that it would just work out once things "got better" with the business and STR's personal challenges. This was especially true for those that had a significant emotional as well as financial investment in their own stove or special project, or were worried that pushing too hard might lose whatever monies/property STR already had. I guess it is easy to come in after the fact and second guess others' choices, but suffice to say, I guess one simply had to "be there" to understand how difficult it was to disengage once the hook was set.
And again, I'll direct anyone with a particular interest to read the blog in its entirety for a large portion of the story, but also remember that there is a lot that is not posted on the blog from a legal and business perspective for what is likely obvious reasoning.
But succinctly, the current state of affairs is a direct result of both private and public attorneys' direction, specifically the Kansas Attorney General's Office. For many claimants, if it were legally advisable to have seized property, then they would have. And in a few cases, that is what has happened. In most cases, we were advised not to do so.
And in many cases, because STR reportedly misrepresented the finished product by its either not existing, not actually being completed, or in some cases having apparently sold the same stove to more than one person, it is actually quite complicated and far too simplistic to say that claimants could have simply used good "business sense" and pooled their resources to seize the stoves. If accurate, claimants stoves were in many cases impossible to identify. And in fact, it wouldn't even be legal to seize the property en masse as the only claim anyone has is for the individual property they can PROVE is theirs, but see my preceding sentence on why that was, and will be, difficult if not impossible for many unfortunately.
In fact, the KSAG has said many times that this is a very complicated case due to the number of claimants, the nation-wide aspect of cases, and the problems with stoves in various states of existence, if at all. And they also have said on numerous occasions that it is a odd case for them, as they have no facility or experience in dealing with this much physical "inventory"(used loosely) and were relieved that at least Mr. Brezendine was able and willing to keep the warehouse in situ at least this long. If he hadn't, the KSAG was unsure of just what they were going to do to store all those unfinished stoves until the property could be identified and claimants processed.
Unfortunately though, for reasons beyond the claimants' control, the KS AG's office has gone through its own struggles, and this case has languished through several attorneys since the autumn of 2007, hence Reno County finally moving the case ahead with this receivership.
And one final point: It has been also pointed out before by some that perhaps these claimants should deserve less sympathy because of the high expense, suggesting that somehow their ability to afford this "luxury" diminishes their justification or veracity to make a claim.
This is simply absurd. Theft is theft. And even if one doesn't agree that this is a case of fraud, just because someone bought a "luxury" item, it doesn't mean that they are wealthy or that somehow this makes their loss any less important than another's. Again, read the blog. One will find several, in fact most, cases are from average families that saved or financed for that final "dream remodel" and their big ticket item was indeed a restored vintage stove. How anyone can suggest that makes this loss less important is beyond me, and in fact very insensitive, as for most of the average customers(like ourselves) this was likely a once-in-a-lifetime expenditure... which is now gone. For those whose hobby is a classic car, antique furniture, or simply the owner of a family heirloom, imagine what its loss would be like, and this is no different.
Well, I'm finished explaining that position I guess and I think most readers would agree..... so I'll now return to simply using this thread and others to update those that need to know any major news 
General minor news and updates happen at the Grow a Brain blog, so as not to use up the bandwidth here at OHW.
Wish us all luck.
Now back to fun and totally non controversial topics like vinyl windows and siding!
Cheers,
Al
The point about this being a "typical cottage industry that failed due to bad planning" is well taken, and is something that many, including myself, have mentioned several times is no doubt part of the story. And as intelligent individuals, we recognize that happens every day. Indeed, most small businesses fail within the first few years. But that isn't the whole story.
The extenuating circumstance here is a rather seeming intent to defraud, which is debatable, but what the courts are for. Also it is apparent from a variety of sources, including STR himself, that there were some personal issues that seemed to also play a part. I'll save the readers here a lengthy response citing every detail and milestone over the last 2 years, but if one is interested and takes the time to read the year-long blog linked above, I think it will become evident that at some point in Vintage Stove's demise, Stevan Thomas Radakovich(STR) moved from a simple case of mismanaged growing cottage business to something else entirely more nefarious.
It's one thing when an honest hard-working business owner does all they can to serve their customers and nurse their business through hard times, even if it fails. But it is entirely a different story once the owner appears to deceive, mislead, and leaves a large portion of his customers without any satisfaction.
After all, how many customers does one think Vintage Stoves had in a given year? 10? 20? ... maybe 30? Remember, as was pointed out in the post above so graciously
... how many people are willing to spend 5, 10, or $20 ,000 on an old stove? I suspect not too many, just because of the economics if nothing else, not to mention other competition. In fact, I bet the total annual "vintage stove market" is 50 or less for all vendors combined.With that in mind, consider the 45+ claimants that we know of, and it is evident that STR did not just lose the good fight at the very end. This is a large portion of the last year or two worth of total customers. That does not, to me anyway, indicate a businessman focused on providing and delivering good service up until the very end. This is systemic. And that is a bit different than that cottage industry, with best intentions, that just can't quite make it. Something else, and I daresay fraud(maybe not initially intended, but evidenced at the end), may be that extra ingredient that makes this case a bit more than a simply small business failure. And finally, if this were just a case of the last few customers that got shut out when the business finally folded, with the owner doing all he could to make it right within reason, we wouldn't see 45+ claims with the KSAG, we'd see what.... 5, maybe 10?
Now, some are certainly more personally upset with STR than others, others have put this entirely behind them, while other dispositions run the gamut in between. That's just human nature. But most I have conversed with have a pretty pragmatic and surprisingly reasonable perspective on this. Even many of them, to your point, just indeed chalk this up to "its just business" and are letting the legal system handle this. Although to suggest they don't take this very seriously would be inaccurate as well. But I have to differ with any characterization of this as a witch-hunt, or that the 45+ claimants have no business sense and they somehow have contributed to their plight. Many victims are successful business owners, attorneys, and professionals in their own right, along with just average families, but they weren't fools. To suggest that is to blame the victim, and distract from the real issue of what many contend has been out-right criminal behavior. Even at best if we discount any intent to defraud, and to the point of the post above, it is still a civil case where the business has an unfulfilled obligation. This is not the fault of the customer, and they have a legitimate claim.
But for example, reports suggesting the selling a $20k+ stove that doesn't exist, or reportedly putting a customer's stove in hock at a local pawn shop is not simply mismanagement. It moves beyond poor business sense at that point.
Also remember that Vintage Stoves had some impressive "references" as well, plus STR was a very slick salesman, a very good "confidence man". One could certainly argue, and many have admitted, that many of us(claimants) could have done many things differently along the way to protect ourselves. Hindsight is always 20/20. But touching on the "give the small business guy the benefit of doubt" angle suggested in the post above, many customers did exactly that. They chose to send a check versus charge a credit card when STR explained his challenges there, or they agreed multiple times to accept a delay in delivery after numerous excuses, or they listened while STR explained how he's just gotten behind, etc.... And many simply hoped beyond hope that it would just work out once things "got better" with the business and STR's personal challenges. This was especially true for those that had a significant emotional as well as financial investment in their own stove or special project, or were worried that pushing too hard might lose whatever monies/property STR already had. I guess it is easy to come in after the fact and second guess others' choices, but suffice to say, I guess one simply had to "be there" to understand how difficult it was to disengage once the hook was set.
And again, I'll direct anyone with a particular interest to read the blog in its entirety for a large portion of the story, but also remember that there is a lot that is not posted on the blog from a legal and business perspective for what is likely obvious reasoning.
But succinctly, the current state of affairs is a direct result of both private and public attorneys' direction, specifically the Kansas Attorney General's Office. For many claimants, if it were legally advisable to have seized property, then they would have. And in a few cases, that is what has happened. In most cases, we were advised not to do so.
And in many cases, because STR reportedly misrepresented the finished product by its either not existing, not actually being completed, or in some cases having apparently sold the same stove to more than one person, it is actually quite complicated and far too simplistic to say that claimants could have simply used good "business sense" and pooled their resources to seize the stoves. If accurate, claimants stoves were in many cases impossible to identify. And in fact, it wouldn't even be legal to seize the property en masse as the only claim anyone has is for the individual property they can PROVE is theirs, but see my preceding sentence on why that was, and will be, difficult if not impossible for many unfortunately.
In fact, the KSAG has said many times that this is a very complicated case due to the number of claimants, the nation-wide aspect of cases, and the problems with stoves in various states of existence, if at all. And they also have said on numerous occasions that it is a odd case for them, as they have no facility or experience in dealing with this much physical "inventory"(used loosely) and were relieved that at least Mr. Brezendine was able and willing to keep the warehouse in situ at least this long. If he hadn't, the KSAG was unsure of just what they were going to do to store all those unfinished stoves until the property could be identified and claimants processed.
Unfortunately though, for reasons beyond the claimants' control, the KS AG's office has gone through its own struggles, and this case has languished through several attorneys since the autumn of 2007, hence Reno County finally moving the case ahead with this receivership.
And one final point: It has been also pointed out before by some that perhaps these claimants should deserve less sympathy because of the high expense, suggesting that somehow their ability to afford this "luxury" diminishes their justification or veracity to make a claim.
This is simply absurd. Theft is theft. And even if one doesn't agree that this is a case of fraud, just because someone bought a "luxury" item, it doesn't mean that they are wealthy or that somehow this makes their loss any less important than another's. Again, read the blog. One will find several, in fact most, cases are from average families that saved or financed for that final "dream remodel" and their big ticket item was indeed a restored vintage stove. How anyone can suggest that makes this loss less important is beyond me, and in fact very insensitive, as for most of the average customers(like ourselves) this was likely a once-in-a-lifetime expenditure... which is now gone. For those whose hobby is a classic car, antique furniture, or simply the owner of a family heirloom, imagine what its loss would be like, and this is no different.
Well, I'm finished explaining that position I guess
and I think most readers would agree..... so I'll now return to simply using this thread and others to update those that need to know any major news General minor news and updates happen at the Grow a Brain blog, so as not to use up the bandwidth here at OHW.
Wish us all luck.
Now back to fun and totally non controversial topics like vinyl windows and siding!
Cheers,
Al
Lewis D. Isenhour House
http://www.isenhourhouse.com
http://www.isenhourhouse.com
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silverhammer
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:14 am
Re: Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves - Be Aware
We had a stove redone by Steve before he moved to Kansas. I live in the LA area and he had come highly reccommended by other stove restorers! Anyway, we had a very good experience with him. We dealt with his 're-enameler' ourselves for color and timeframe - overall it was a really good experience. I'm very sad to hear and read all of this unscrupulous info on Vintage Stoves. Sounds like he got off track somewhere.
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al_roethlisberger
- Posts: 926
- Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:33 pm
- Location: Sanford, NC
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Re: Stevan Thomas Vintage Stoves - Be Aware
Yes, it is a shame.... all around for everyone, customers, the industry, and even for Mr. Thomas(Radakovich) in that he had a thriving business that many would have loved to have 
The current status is that the KSAG has been awarded a default judgment.
The latest Hutchinson News article:
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/paymlat
Now whether that judgment can be collected is another matter altogether.
Al
The current status is that the KSAG has been awarded a default judgment.
The latest Hutchinson News article:
http://www.hutchnews.com/Localregional/paymlat
Now whether that judgment can be collected is another matter altogether.
Al
Lewis D. Isenhour House
http://www.isenhourhouse.com
http://www.isenhourhouse.com