The owners of Freestyle Music Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US, are being sued by the park’s former inhabitants.

The 55-acre theme park, which opened in April 2008 as Hard Rock Park, was acquired (and renamed) by FPI MB Entertainment (FPI) for US$25m after its former owners filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Now, however, those former owners - Myrtle Beach Operations, who designed and built the park – are asking FPI to pay US$570,000 in outstanding debt.

According to WMBF News, Alfred Giuliano, who represents Myrtle Beach Holdings, states in the motion filed on 31 December that FPI was “contracted to pay Tetra Financial Group US$800,000 upon the signing of a lease for the theme park and that following the initial payment, FPI was also required to make four monthly installments of US$100,000”.

However, the motion claims that none of the monthly payments have been made.

Steve Baker, president of the park, said in a statement:"We're not running from our obligations and are surprised since we have been in weekly contact with the lessors.

"We remain committed to paying these debts as well as our other financial obligations. These debts were already incorporated into our list of overall financial obligations which we submitted to the current owners and new investors for resolution later."

A hearing has been scheduled for 14 Jan in Delaware’s Federal Bankruptcy Court.