The Tribune

THE question of whether to dismiss Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 case in a US bankruptcy court is “not a slam dunk for either party,” a US judge hearing the case said yesterday.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, Delaware court Judge Kevin Carey, while noting that his comments were not a preliminary ruling, said that questions about the effects of the court’s rulings outside the US “doesn’t mean there might not be some benefit” to allowing the Chapter 11 Case to continue.

He added that the continuation of the US case would not harm creditors’ rights in the Bahamian proceedings. The US bankruptcy hearing has been delayed to August 28.

Baha Mar Ltd - through its affiliate Northshore Mainland Services, a Delaware company - filed for bankruptcy protection on June 28. In July, CCA Bahamas had filed motion to dismiss with prejudice the resort developer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, maintaining that the Bahamian Supreme Court is the only acceptable forum for resolution.

It also asserted that Baha Mar Ltd had failed to demonstrate any of the debtors with alleged US ties had conducted any business or held any property or asset in the United States and further argued that Baha Mar sought US bankruptcy protection solely to avoid bankruptcy proceedings in The Bahamas.

Last month Supreme Court Justice Ian Winder denied an application for the recognition of Baha Mar’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States but earlier this month granted the developer leave to appeal that decision.

A delayed hearing on a winding-up petition by the government has been set for Wednesday and Thursday this week after China Construction America (CCA) expressed reservations over the appointment of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Bahamas as Baha Mar’s provisional liquidators.