PORTLAND – A court petition seeks to force modular housing builder Oxford Homes Inc. to pay more than $300,000 in claims to creditors.

Seven companies filed a petition with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Portland. It also seeks to force the western Maine company into liquidation.

The petitioners’ attorney, Matthew Goldfarb, says his clients represent about 22 percent of the estimated $1.4 million in outstanding unsecured claims. It’s unclear how much in secured claims are outstanding.

Oxford Homes was recently sold to a Boston-based limited liability company, Eco-Building Systems.

Named as petitioning creditors in the filing against Oxford Homes are Brockway-Smith Co. of Andover, Mass.; Chick Lumber Inc. of North Conway, N.H.; and Huttig Building Supply of Hooksett, N.H.

Other petitioners are North Pacific of Concord, N.H., and the Maine companies of Waterville Window Co. in Waterville, Wood Structure Inc. in Biddeford, and Record Lumber in Oxford.

Bean’s Homes of northern Vermont is among other companies that are expected to add their names to the list of petitioning creditors.

The petition was filed after meetings between Oxford Homes representatives and creditors failed to come to a consensus, said Goldfarb. Creditors were made an offer but turned it down.

Former Oxford Homes president Peter Connell of Norway said before the filing that the company’s sale to Eco-Building Systems was made to provide a new source of business that could give vendors a chance to recoup some of their losses. Connell, who has been hired as the new president of Eco-Building Systems, said it would be inappropriate to comment on the new filing.

Peter Shahir, attorney for Eco-Building, said the bankruptcy court petition does not affect the company.

Oxford Homes has been in business for 30 years. In 1994, nearly 15 creditors, including the town of Oxford and Norway Savings Bank, filed against the company in the same court.