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Local builder Pathway Developments Inc. and its president, Michael F. Teufel, filed for liquidation bankruptcy Sunday, according to bankruptcy court records.

Detailed financial information has not yet been submitted to the court, but preliminary filings indicate that the debts of Teufel and his companies could range from $55 million to more than $150 million. The documents also state that there will likely be no funds available for unsecured creditors.

Sunday's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings included Teufel-led Pathway Developments Inc., Pathway Holdings LLC, Pathway Sabino LLC and Raven Springs LLC as well as a filing by Teufel himself. Last week, two other Pathway-related entities also filed for Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy: Pathway Cerro LLC and Ventana del Cerro LLC.

Once an acclaimed developer with projects all over Tucson, Pathway has collapsed over the past year. The company has been subject to more than two dozen lawsuits filed by home-buyers, investors, lenders, subcontractors and others as the business fell into ruin.

Home-buyers have alleged that Pathway failed to start or complete their homes, leaving them with hefty construction loans to pay off and nothing to show for it. Some investors and lenders accused Teufel of stealing funds from partnerships or transferring assets to avoid repayment.

Among all of the separate Pathway-related bankruptcy filings, the heftiest debt was listed in Teufel's personal filing, with liabilities ranging from $50 million to $100 million. Teufel and his companies have about two weeks to file detailed lists of assets and debts.

In an e-mail, Teufel said that the number is high because he "personally guaranteed all the construction and development loans for every development we were involved with." Most of the debt is bank loans for projects, he said.

Teufel said his company's collapse was due to the slowdown in the housing market and many clients failing to pay millions of dollars in bills to Pathway.

He expressed hope that he may be able to work out an agreement to pay back some debts, adding that he decided to file for bankruptcy protection because "continuing declining market conditions have hindered our ability to repay our creditors."

Steven Russo, an attorney who manages two investor groups that sued Teufel, said he has heard from several other Pathway-related investors who "expressed severe displeasure with (Teufel's) business practices."

Russo's investment groups, which hired a forensic accounting firm to comb the partnership's books, believe that Teufel stole more than $7 million from those partnerships.

Russo said he is eager to learn more about Teufel's businesses through the bankruptcy cases because Teufel will be required to submit to scrutiny by the court.

"He's now in a forum where he's going to have to tell the truth," Russo said.

Another potential creditor, David Blair, said he lost $125,000 invested in Pathway project Stone Crossing, at North Stone Avenue and Limberlost Drive.

Blair, who was initially the owner of the site and sold it to Pathway, said he selected Pathway because he liked their work.

"They were kind of ahead of the curve," he said. "They were doing nice stuff and it looked like a good fit."

Blair said he has not filed a lawsuit because he suspects Pathway does not have the funds to repay any of his $125,000.

"Going after Mike Teufel does no good," he said. "If they don't have the money to pay you, they don't pay you."