PARIS – Problems keep mounting for Oxford businessman Peter Connell after two civil suits were filed in Oxford County Superior Court against him and the former Oxford Homes Inc. seeking nearly $200,000 in restitution for unpaid bills.

Universal Forest Products Eastern Division Inc., which is based in Georgia and has a division in Maine, has filed a complaint against the former company and its former president, Connell, asking that an attachment be placed on the real estate, bank accounts, personal property, equipment, inventory and other assets owned by Oxford Homes Inc. and Peter Connell in the amount of $165,000.

Court documents also show that civil action was filed in Oxford County Superior Court on Sept. 12 by Brockway-Smith Co. of Andover, Mass., to recover $31,909 of a credit line extended to Oxford Homes Inc. and guaranteed by Connell under an open line credit account.

“I’m not at liberty to comment,” Connell said, because of the pending litigation.

According to court documents filed Aug. 15, Universal Forest Products Eastern Division Inc. requests $127,545 of principal payments largely for lumber purchased. The remainder of the demand includes an 18 percent interest charge on the unpaid bill and an estimated $30,000 in attorney fees. According to those documents, Connell has purchased products from the company since the 1980s, but payment began to falter after 2000.

The Massachusetts firm is one of nine companies that filed an involuntary petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland last month to force Oxford Homes into liquidation and recoup more than $300,000 in claims. In early August, the assets of Oxford Homes Inc. and a few liabilities, such as equipment leases, were bought by Eco-Building Systems, a limited liability company based in Boston. The company named Connell president.

At that time, creditors were notified by Connell that the company would not be able to make payments to its general creditors at that time but an effort was under way to generate a small dividend after liquidation of the “small residue” of assets not purchased by Eco-Building Systems. Creditors almost immediately sought legal assistance and filed to force the company’s liquidation.

Universal Forest Products does not appear on the list of petitioning creditors in the Bankruptcy Court proceedings. Its attorney, Jeffrey Bennett, of Portland was not available for comment Wednesday.

A summons was served on Connell on Aug. 22 on the Universal Forest Products case, which has now been stayed while the bankruptcy proceedings continue. The Brockway-Smith Co. summons was served Sept. 14.

“Nothing will move forward until its out of bankruptcy,” court Clerk Donna Howe said.

According to the court documents, on or about Sept. 25, 2000, Connell executed a guarantee agreement with the Massachusetts company to extend credit to Oxford Homes Inc. under the open line credit account. The obligation stated in part that Connell was to make “full and prompt payment” immediately upon the filing of a voluntary or involuntary petition for relief in bankruptcy.

The document states that from May 26 to Aug. 10 of this year, when Oxford Homes announced to its creditors that it had sold its assets to a Boston-based limited liability firm, the Oxford-based home manufacturer made purchases totaling $31,909 from Brockway-Smith that it has not paid for.

At the time of the forced bankruptcy filing, the counsel for Brockway-Smith Co. demanded full payment from Connell, which officials state Connell has refused or failed to pay.

In addition to his business holdings, Connell’s personal property is in jeopardy under the civil suit action. Connell owns a home on Kal Shores Road in Norway that is assessed for nearly $600,000, which includes $250,200 in land and $326,700 for the house, according to town records. Connell’s tax bill for this year is $7,105, according to Assessor Jodi Keniston. His previous personal property taxes in the town of Norway are paid in full, she said. The new tax bills have not been sent out to homeowners yet.

Oxford Homes was established in 1977 in a manufacturing plant on 16 acres beside Route 26 in Oxford.