Ineffective rectangular frisbees? Tiny coasters? Better start thinking of some ideas for any of those unredeemed Borders gift cards you may still have lying around: A judge ruled this week that customers won’t see a nickel of a total of $210.5 million in remaining balances on gift cards they failed to use before Borders bit the big one and went off to that great mall in the sky.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter says it wouldn’t be fair to Borders’ other creditors to let gift card holders go after that money from the bankruptcy estate, reports Reuters.

It would likely instead upset a liquidation by Borders’ bankruptcy trustee that is already “substantially” completed. Meaning it’s too late now to try because it might risk ruining the whole thing.

There’s only $61 million left to hand out to all the entities making claims on Borders right now, so that the $50 million that’s estimated would go to satisfy any kind of class action lawsuit card holders might bring would just take too large of a chunk of that.

In addition, card holders hadn’t met all the requirements that would’ve proved they deserved an exception. For one thing, unsecured creditors whose interests might be harmed hadn’t been told about the litigation and given a chance to object.

Our hats are off to you if you haven’t chucked those cards already, as Borders went out of business in the summer of 2011. I can’t even keep tabs on gift cards I received at Christmas, much less two years later. That sound you hear is money swirling down the drain, people. Yet another reminder of why gift cards are awful. Simply awful.

Borders gift card holders deserve nothing, judge rules [Reuters]

 

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