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BOISE, Idaho — A federal bankruptcy court judge said Friday he’ll decide within two weeks whether to dismiss the bankruptcy cases of two real estate companies that own a majority of troubled Tamarack Resort, a move that could help clear the way for investment bank Credit Suisse to gain control of the resort.
Attorneys for Jean-Pierre Boespflug, Tamarack’s chief executive officer who owns 50.6 percent of the resort, and Alfredo Miguel Afif, its chairman who owns 26 percent, and for Credit Suisse, participated in a three-hour court hearing.
Chief Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers told them his decision would be rendered by Oct. 16.
Credit Suisse sued in March after Boespflug’s and Miguel’s companies didn’t fulfill their agreement to cover Tamarack’s debt obligations when the resort defaulted on a $260 million syndicated loan. The bank now contends Boespflug and Miguel inappropriately sought bankruptcy protection for their companies in order to buy time for the resort to find a new investor.
Friday’s hearing came a day after The Associated Press reported Boespflug planned to inject enough of his personal funding to open skiing in December — but wouldn’t commit to keeping the resort 90 miles north of Boise afloat until season’s end without additional money from new investors.
Resort officials said some resort patrons called, concerned the troubles could affect upcoming recreation.
“We’ve had a few phone calls, but not a ton of traffic,” resort spokesman Ken Rider told The AP. “What we’re really focused on is that J.P. is committing to making sure we open for the ski season, and making sure we get a partner in here to make sure the ski season continues and goes through the rest of the year.”
Construction on Tamarack’s Village Plaza centerpiece is at a standstill, with at least $56 million needed to finish the project. Tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf bailed out of a luxury hotel project earlier this year, and Bank of America and Sterling Bank plan separate foreclosure auctions for the resort’s conference center and employee housing after Tamarack fell behind on payments.
In Friday’s hearing, Credit Suisse argued that when Boespflug’s Cross Atlantic Real Estate LLC and Miguel’s VPG Investments filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 15, they sought only to buy time. They acted in bad faith by seeking not to reorganize their own companies, but rather to buy time for Tamarack to restructure and to keep the bank from replacing resort management, Credit Suisse’s lawyers said.
“It’s crystal clear they filed the case to stop us from executing on our state law rights,” said Joel Samuels, an attorney for the Zurich, Switzerland-based bank. “They filed to use bankruptcy as a parking space.”
Justin May, Boespflug’s lawyer, countered that his client’s continued personal financial commitment to Tamarack after seeking bankruptcy protection was ample evidence that he was sincere about protecting not only his own stake, but also the value of Tamarack Resort.
Boespflug has made $11 million in loans to the resort since April, with a 15 percent return to be paid to him upon a successful refinancing.
“Putting in that additional money ... shows a lot of good faith,” May said.
After the hearing, Miguel and Boespflug said they were working separately to secure new investors for their project and they’re keeping each other informed of progress.
Miguel conceded a proposed $670 million bond sale he attempted to organize through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association this summer has been “suspended,” as potential investors including the AFL-CIO pension fund grew concerned about unresolved litigation as well as deteriorating credit markets.
Still, Miguel said he’d flown recently to Mexico to meet with representatives from Spanish banks that he didn’t identify.
“I have hopes it will work with the Spaniards,” he said. “They’re starting to look for some special real estate investments.”
Boespflug also remained optimistic. He said he’s fighting Credit Suisse’s efforts to take control of Tamarack on grounds that he is more capable of securing a buyer than are the bankers.
“Our efforts and the number of people we brought into the resort was, in number and quality over a shorter period of time, far superior,” Boespflug, a native of Nice, France, said of his efforts to lure prospective suitors.
Homeowners at the resort say Boespflug was the driving force in creating Tamarack and that they continue to support his efforts to find new investors. Still, they say their patience isn’t infinite, especially since Tamarack is behind more than $300,000 in payments to the Tamarack Municipal Association, which helps maintain services such as snow removal, said Rod Walz, a homeowners representative.
“At some point in the near future, we have to seriously consider whether it would be in the homeowners’ best interest to have a neutral independent company come in, especially if the new party commits to continued funding of resort operations and the Tamarack Municipal Association,” Walz said.
In a separate foreclosure lawsuit filed by Credit Suisse against Tamarack in Idaho’s 4th District Court, the bank in late September submitted a plan for a $10 million loan to a proposed receiver it’s asking the court to appoint to assume resort management, according to court documents obtained by The AP.
According to the documents, the $10 million would fund a 90-day budget, including winterization of the Village Plaza and the cost of starting up the ski hill. A new hearing on the proposed receivership, which a judge denied once in July, is planned for Oct. 15 in Cascade, Idaho.
Attorneys for Jean-Pierre Boespflug, Tamarack’s chief executive officer who owns 50.6 percent of the resort, and Alfredo Miguel Afif, its chairman who owns 26 percent, and for Credit Suisse, participated in a three-hour court hearing.
Chief Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers told them his decision would be rendered by Oct. 16.
Credit Suisse sued in March after Boespflug’s and Miguel’s companies didn’t fulfill their agreement to cover Tamarack’s debt obligations when the resort defaulted on a $260 million syndicated loan. The bank now contends Boespflug and Miguel inappropriately sought bankruptcy protection for their companies in order to buy time for the resort to find a new investor.
Friday’s hearing came a day after The Associated Press reported Boespflug planned to inject enough of his personal funding to open skiing in December — but wouldn’t commit to keeping the resort 90 miles north of Boise afloat until season’s end without additional money from new investors.
Resort officials said some resort patrons called, concerned the troubles could affect upcoming recreation.
“We’ve had a few phone calls, but not a ton of traffic,” resort spokesman Ken Rider told The AP. “What we’re really focused on is that J.P. is committing to making sure we open for the ski season, and making sure we get a partner in here to make sure the ski season continues and goes through the rest of the year.”
Construction on Tamarack’s Village Plaza centerpiece is at a standstill, with at least $56 million needed to finish the project. Tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf bailed out of a luxury hotel project earlier this year, and Bank of America and Sterling Bank plan separate foreclosure auctions for the resort’s conference center and employee housing after Tamarack fell behind on payments.
In Friday’s hearing, Credit Suisse argued that when Boespflug’s Cross Atlantic Real Estate LLC and Miguel’s VPG Investments filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Feb. 15, they sought only to buy time. They acted in bad faith by seeking not to reorganize their own companies, but rather to buy time for Tamarack to restructure and to keep the bank from replacing resort management, Credit Suisse’s lawyers said.
“It’s crystal clear they filed the case to stop us from executing on our state law rights,” said Joel Samuels, an attorney for the Zurich, Switzerland-based bank. “They filed to use bankruptcy as a parking space.”
Justin May, Boespflug’s lawyer, countered that his client’s continued personal financial commitment to Tamarack after seeking bankruptcy protection was ample evidence that he was sincere about protecting not only his own stake, but also the value of Tamarack Resort.
Boespflug has made $11 million in loans to the resort since April, with a 15 percent return to be paid to him upon a successful refinancing.
“Putting in that additional money ... shows a lot of good faith,” May said.
After the hearing, Miguel and Boespflug said they were working separately to secure new investors for their project and they’re keeping each other informed of progress.
Miguel conceded a proposed $670 million bond sale he attempted to organize through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association this summer has been “suspended,” as potential investors including the AFL-CIO pension fund grew concerned about unresolved litigation as well as deteriorating credit markets.
Still, Miguel said he’d flown recently to Mexico to meet with representatives from Spanish banks that he didn’t identify.
“I have hopes it will work with the Spaniards,” he said. “They’re starting to look for some special real estate investments.”
Boespflug also remained optimistic. He said he’s fighting Credit Suisse’s efforts to take control of Tamarack on grounds that he is more capable of securing a buyer than are the bankers.
“Our efforts and the number of people we brought into the resort was, in number and quality over a shorter period of time, far superior,” Boespflug, a native of Nice, France, said of his efforts to lure prospective suitors.
Homeowners at the resort say Boespflug was the driving force in creating Tamarack and that they continue to support his efforts to find new investors. Still, they say their patience isn’t infinite, especially since Tamarack is behind more than $300,000 in payments to the Tamarack Municipal Association, which helps maintain services such as snow removal, said Rod Walz, a homeowners representative.
“At some point in the near future, we have to seriously consider whether it would be in the homeowners’ best interest to have a neutral independent company come in, especially if the new party commits to continued funding of resort operations and the Tamarack Municipal Association,” Walz said.
In a separate foreclosure lawsuit filed by Credit Suisse against Tamarack in Idaho’s 4th District Court, the bank in late September submitted a plan for a $10 million loan to a proposed receiver it’s asking the court to appoint to assume resort management, according to court documents obtained by The AP.
According to the documents, the $10 million would fund a 90-day budget, including winterization of the Village Plaza and the cost of starting up the ski hill. A new hearing on the proposed receivership, which a judge denied once in July, is planned for Oct. 15 in Cascade, Idaho.
