# Lane Furniture abruptly closes the entire operation \[22 Nov 22\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 24, 2022, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471 "2022-11-24T05:49:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2022, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/21 "2022-11-25T02:43:04Z")
Oh I thought the affected employees were in High Point NC which did accept Medicaid expansion. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/22 "2022-11-26T13:32:59Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > To me it sounds like they had major bank loans and the banks decided to quit lending (because the company had large continuing losses). The story has a quote from one of their customers who told his company to start backing away from buying from them, because he’d heard they’d stopped paying their bills. Any time a business stops paying their bills, it’s a good bet they’re not long for this world. Someone in management there knew for quite some time that they were in trouble, but kept quiet about it. We can only speculate as to their motivations. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/23 "2022-11-27T15:34:21Z")
Just because I was curious I checked out their web page which is still up and running. You can even still apply for jobs online. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/24 "2022-11-27T15:54:46Z")
That’s the 21st century equivalent of the sign on the front of a dead restaurant. Nobody is paying someone to shut it down or paint it over, so there it sits. One day the web hosting contract runs out or the https certificate expires or the bandwidth bill goes unpaid long enough or whatever, and then the website unceremoniously disappears. But that day is not yet today. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/25 "2022-11-27T23:31:01Z")
That person was probably included in the layoff. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/26 "2022-11-27T23:59:30Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > The question is how can a company not offer it as an option in this situation? We may not know until after the holiday and its possible that this could be walked back. A company is only required to offer COBRA so long as they continue to participate in their group insurance plan. If they cancel their insurance, they’re under no legal obligation to provide coverage. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/27 "2022-11-28T00:01:01Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > (I also have no idea what COBRA and WARN are.) [COBRA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1985) is a U.S. law, which allows someone who leaves an employer (either voluntarily or involuntarily) to continue to receive the health insurance benefits they had as an employee, if the former employee pays 100% of the premium cost of the coverage. But, as has been noted by several, if the company ceased operations entirely, and was no longer offering health insurance to _anyone_, it appears that COBRA would not apply. [The WARN Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_Adjustment_and_Retraining_Notification_Act_of_1988) is another U.S. law, which mandates that large employers who are planning a mass layoff or closing to provide a 60-day notice of such plans. The WARN Act was in the news in recent weeks, when there were questions over whether the mass layoffs at Twitter were in violation of this law. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/28 "2022-11-28T00:05:12Z")
> [@chela](#): > > North Carolinians can access healthcare subsidies at Healthcare dot gov. Open enrollment until 12/15 iirc. And, in addition, losing your previous health coverage, because your employer suddenly went toes-up and cancelled it (along with laying you off), opens up a “special enrollment period” for you, which I believe runs for 60 days after the date that you lost your job. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/29 "2022-11-28T00:12:18Z")
Any bets on criminal charges emerging against the upper management in the next week or so? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/30 "2022-11-28T00:18:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@SCAdian](#): > > > > (I also have no idea what COBRA and WARN are.) > > [COBRA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_Omnibus_Budget_Reconciliation_Act_of_1985) is… > > [The WARN Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker_Adjustment_and_Retraining_Notification_Act_of_1988) is… Thanks. I guess I had heard of COBRA, but hadn’t bothered to investigate. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/31 "2022-11-28T00:21:22Z")
They made good furniture. 's too bad. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/32 "2023-07-17T16:16:44Z")
Real Estate assets on for sale. > **[Lane Furniture’s Real Estate Holdings Go On the Block in Liquidation](https://www.costar.com/article/144779625/lane-furnitures-real-estate-holdings-go-on-the-block-in-liquidation)** > > B. Riley Is Marketing 14 Warehouses and Factories in Mississippi, North Carolina > **[Minimum bid for United Furniture assets set at $65 million](https://news.yahoo.com/minimum-bid-united-furniture-assets-011400199.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANhaTRFyzwULjG3-l0Hfsv0P1nghkmSZ0i2MqMkSJlHiQ-nRr1ebAxPCCzKPxndHfE__6E65lxk5S0JLshSgGKfET02Tftw6b5sCz-913lylR6f8pZCVhCHYqHh9OM_kkgAseAwnjRnKaU9ZDkAfetRMi_BCbK2_L72Ks9TiAyYd)** > > A minimum bid for the assets of defunct furniture manufacturer United Furniture Industries, formerly Lane Furniture, has been set at $65 million. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/33 "2023-07-17T20:04:13Z")
Any word on insurance or any kind of severance… or where the money went? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471/34 "2023-07-17T20:09:27Z")
Nothing recent: > **[‘Agonizing’: United Furniture owner quietly surfaces after firing 2,700...](https://nypost.com/2022/12/26/united-furniture-owner-quietly-surfaces-after-firing-2700-overnight/)** > > “Only very recently did I learn just how dire the situation had become, how limited the company’s options were,” Belford said. From January 10th: > **[What Lane/United Furniture was doing in December while questions were mounting...](https://www.furnituretoday.com/financial/what-lane-united-furniture-was-doing-in-december-while-questions-were-mounting/)** > > What Lane/United Furniture was doing after it closed its doors on November 22 is revealed in new court documents. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lane-furniture-abruptly-closes-the-entire-operation-22-nov-22/975471.md?page=1)