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November 21, 2009

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Fontainebleau suit against lenders moved from bankruptcy court

By Steve Green (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009 | 9:01 a.m.

Fontainebleau Resort

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Major bank lenders to the Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel-casino have won a tactical victory in their legal dispute with the bankrupt resort.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold in Miami has granted the banks' motion to move Fontainebleau's lawsuit against them from the bankruptcy court to the federal district court in Miami.

The suit, initially filed in Clark County District Court on April 23, was later moved to federal district court in Las Vegas. When Fontainebleau filed for bankruptcy in June, it dismissed the lawsuit and re-filed it in Miami bankruptcy court.

Fontainebleau claims in the lawsuit that Bank of America and other big lenders in a revolving loan agreement this spring improperly refused to loan the resort $656.5 million needed for continued construction. Fontainebleau says it had to halt construction of the $2.9 billion resort and file for bankruptcy because the banks breached the lending contract.

The banks, however, say they stopped financing the project because Fontainebleau had defaulted on the credit agreement because of cost overruns and other problems.

In filing for bankruptcy, Fontainebleau said the lawsuit belonged in the bankruptcy court because it's a core part of its reorganization and because the litigation would proceed faster in bankruptcy court.

But the banks said the $656.5 million sought in the lawsuit are not a key part of Fontainebleau's plan to reorganize and resume construction on the resort, since creditors could assert claims against those funds.

The banks also said it would be more efficient to handle the case in district court for two reasons:

-- A related lawsuit against the banks filed by term lenders to Fontainebleau is pending in district court. The cases involve similar issues and it makes sense for depositions and other evidence-gathering procedures to proceed under the supervision of the same court.

-- Any ruling by the bankruptcy court would be subject to review by the district court, so the move to district court will remove one step from the process.

In a ruling filed Tuesday, Gold sided with the banks in the dispute.

"Without the turnover (of the money) claim, plaintiff’s claims neither involve a right created by bankruptcy law nor do they arise only in bankruptcy. As defendants have noted, plaintiff’s breach of contract claims were raised pre-(bankruptcy) petition in substantially similar form in Nevada state court,'' Gold wrote in his ruling.

Fontainebleau on Wednesday said it had no comment on Gold's ruling or whether court-ordered mediation with the banks was still under way.

The defendants in the lawsuit are Bank of America, its subsidiary Merrill Lynch Capital Corp., JPMorgan Chase Bank, Barclays Bank PLC, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, the Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Bank of Scotland plc and HSH Nordbank AG.

In arguing to move the lawsuit out of bankruptcy court, attorneys for the banks wrote in court papers:

"These and other overlapping issues between this case and the term lender (lawsuit) involve questions of state law that could have been, were, and indeed still are, the subject matter of a non-bankruptcy lawsuit that is in no way dependent upon this bankruptcy case and does not arise in or under the Bankruptcy Code.

"Fontainebleau’s attempt to convert its action into a core proceeding by appending a 'turnover' claim is unavailing. The purported turnover claim adds no new theories of entitlement or damages; rather it simply reiterates the basis for its alleged breach of contract claims. These contract claims are not payable on demand and are vigorously disputed, and are thus inappropriate for turnover.''

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

  1. By bdover
    8/5/09 at 12:24 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    CynicalObserver, is this simply the court saying the bankruptcy by F has nothing to do with the retention of funds by the banks due to the cost overruns? It would seem to me this means the case could drag on for years, with appeals ad nauseum. Whatta' you think?

  2. By nightmare
    8/5/09 at 1:33 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    This is precisely what the Fontainebleau developers deserve. I wish they could all be thrown in prison.

  3. By Army
    8/5/09 at 1:48 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    I'm sure that a lot of people will remember a company the bragged about putting subcontractors out of business. This has the same making of that same company. Turnberry West And Fontainebleau both having the same owner should make all wonder whose pockets are being filled at the expense of this company and owner. Someone needs to check into what this same company did to the sub contractors in Miami. It would be interesting to see how much money the Soffer family has cost subcontractors and their families. If I was and odds maker I would bet that Soffer hasn't to to change his life still at the expense of the comnstruction workers here and in Miami.

  4. By scandalrag
    8/5/09 at 2:14 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    @bdover: The court is saying that the suit preceded the bankruptcy and makes no new claims that arise from bankruptcy law, so it has no jurisdiction. The court ruled it is a state law claim with Federal diversity (not bankruptcy) jurisdiction, so it is turning it over to the District Court.

  5. By scottyurb
    8/6/09 at 11:15 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    I don't care who needs to bendover and take it--this project needs to be completed and up and running for the good of all! You just don't quit loaning money to a job that's 75% complete, will earn it's investment over time and will stimulate the local economy when it's most in need.

  6. By dollarbillz
    8/6/09 at 11:38 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    I hear all you out of work UNION boys are stimulating each other back at the hall. You got your HOPE and CHANGE.

  7. By vegas222
    8/7/09 at 8:22 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    A few things: the transfer of the Font. vs Banks suit out of bankruptcy ( a right decision as noted above) does condemn the suit to years of litigation, preceded by discovery that may answer the rumors of what happened. It will stay in the news. The Ch.11 case will come to a quicker, not better, resolution in the next 60 days and there will be a new principal owner , possibly the lenders themselves but the subcontractors and suppliers who have liens will be waiting for them and the subs will have an upper hand under NV law. Can't wait to get my recovery and still try to finish the job re-employing about 3000 of the best , most productive union workers in America. They earn their living through unsurpassed quality and production in all weather conditions.

  8. By dollarbillz
    8/7/09 at 1:01 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    UNIONS.....All overpaid, unsafe, mostly ILLEGALS doing the work. You know it and so does every other AMERICAN. All the UNIONS want is their DUES to be paid, by anyone who will sign up at the hall. Shame on you all.

  9. By blueplanet
    8/18/09 at 1:19 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    NON-UNION....While the skilled union workers move to other parts of the nation to build America the non-union illegals wait for the inflated housing and small commercial contractors to throw them another bone. Working for the man, working for the man.

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