Las Vegas News, Sports, Business, Entertainment and Classifieds

Las Vegas Review-Journal - Breaking News

Saturday
Jul 31, 2010
Clouds And Sun
Clouds And Sun 101° Weather Forecast

RECENT EDITIONS
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

sponsored by
Breaking News
Oct. 20, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Creditors of bankrupt Lake Las Vegas Resort trying to sue former project owners

BLOOMBERG NEWS

Creditors of the bankrupt Lake Las Vegas Resort are trying to sue billionaire brothers Sid and Lee Bass, accusing them and their partners of taking $460 million out of the project and leaving it insolvent.

Unsecured creditors of Lake Las Vegas Resort LLC asked the judge overseeing the company’s bankruptcy for permission to sue the Bass brothers and other former owners of the development, including Transcontinental Corp.


Most Popular Stories
  1. Recent rains make Lake Mead's water level rise more than foot
  2. Recent rains make Lake Mead's water level rise more than foot
  3. Reid: Final health bill will have a 'public option'
  4. Analyst: Las Vegas economy sick with 'jobophilia'
  5. 30,000-square-foot supermarket opens at Korea Town Plaza
  6. Rio indefinitely closes adult-themed Sapphire Pool
  7. Rental housing prices down 8.2 percent in Las Vegas
  8. Rental housing prices down 8.2 percent in Las Vegas
  9. Poetry nightclub moving out of Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
  10. Nevada's unemployment rate reaches 10 percent

  • Slain man found at Caesars wasn't robbery target
  • Amazon to open North Las Vegas distribution center; warehouse to bring 350 new jobs

    •

    The creditors claim that the former owners forced Lake Las Vegas to borrow $560 million from Credit Suisse Group AG in 2004 when they knew that the loan would leave the 3,600-acre project insolvent.

    At the time of the loans, “the property was in substantial financial trouble as the development was over budget and behind in schedule,” creditors said in court papers filed Monday in Las Vegas.

    Bill Reimann, a spokesman for Sid Bass, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

    The creditors sued Credit Suisse in July after getting permission from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Linda B. Riegle in Las Vegas. Such so-called fraudulent conveyance lawsuits are normally brought by the bankrupt company on behalf of their creditors, in this case Lake Las Vegas.

    Creditors must ask for permission to sue on their own behalf when the bankrupt company declines to file a case. Lake Las Vegas has said it does not plan to sue Credit Suisse, which arranged the $560 million loan.

    Lake Las Vegas Resort is a partly built, 3,592-acre community about 20 miles east of Las Vegas. It was to contain 29 neighborhoods, two luxury resorts, a man-made lake and three golf courses.

    Unsecured creditors want the Credit Suisse loans to lose their higher repayment status, allowing lower-ranked debt to be repaid first. Credit Suisse lenders are currently owed about $622 million, according to court records

    . The company filed bankruptcy last year, saying it had debt of as much as $1 billion and $500 million in assets.

    Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

    Comments (12)

    Share your thoughts on this story.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.

    Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

    X

    Register to comment

    * Indicates fields that are required
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    *
    Male Female

    Already registered? Log in now

    X

    Already registered to comment?

    Log in below
    E-mail
    Password

    Forgot your password? | Register
    X

    Forgot your password?

    Enter your e-mail address below and a password will be resent to you.

    Email
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.

    Report abuse

    DavidM64 wrote on October 21, 2009 07:20 PM: Hey Pedro and the rest of the naysayers in the forum.

    I recently bought a condo in Montelago Village. Guess what? It has rented 14 nights out of 20 in the month of October. The month isn't over yet. The village was also sold out during this past summer on several occasions, mostly by "staycation" locals. (See Las Vegas Sun staycation article) LLV has PLENTY for locals to do.. If you don't believe me, check out www.lakelasvegasevents.com

    So, it is working out just fine for me! I'm laughing all the way to my Chase bank account! :) I got a smoking deal, awesome view, the condo rental is profitable and I have an cool condo and village visit. (all of the restaurants rock in LLV)

    Much of the comments written in this forum are un-founded, factless, off point and written by jealous wannabes who enjoy the demise of others. Shame on you! Remember, karma can be a b**ch! LLV, homes and golf courses, like the ENTIRE country are in the process of resetting itself to the new market conditions of the current economy. And, there are plenty of other water communities in the Vegas area. Don't just pick on LLV for these issues.

    Sorry to burst all of negative commenters bubbles, but the lake isn't going dry, the village isn't going bust, the golf courses are still being maintained and the South Shore Course just re-opened. :)

    LLV is and will always be awesome place to live and play! (and will only get better)


    Report abuse

    TimeRanger wrote on October 20, 2009 09:44 PM: They can start saving BIG $$$$$ and water by pulling the plug on the lake and letting the water drain back into Lake Mead. This would also help our water shortage problem since it is estimated that Lake Las Vegas loses 1400 acre feet per year from evaporation alone.


    Report abuse

    Harry Bollox wrote on October 20, 2009 07:50 PM: Drain that lake back into Lake Mead and let the creditors duke it out in the muddy sludge that will be left.


    Report abuse

    Cool Mo D wrote on October 20, 2009 07:38 PM: I laugh my butt off when I read about this LLV project going bust. The closing of 2 of the 3 golf courses is especially comical, since they portrayed LLV as a golf destination, now what? Ha! Ha! I can only imagine the feelings of these home owners whose condos or houses have plummeted by 75% in Lake Las Vegas. The snob elitists who moved there - look at them now - tee hee hee!


    Report abuse

    Bob wrote on October 20, 2009 06:48 PM: This is similar to the property next to the dog cemetary. It never made sense. The lake with one golf course and large houses made sense. Now 2 high end hotels a time share and a hotel resort with a few golf courses with retail that should be torn down. And they could care less about the locals, which means within 30 miles. Now all of a sudden they want to go after the bass brothers. this is getting completely insane. They took that property out of another bankruptcy. Cynical is a law attorney or observer. Makes sense.


    Report abuse

    CynicalObserver wrote on October 20, 2009 05:42 PM: The only people worse than developers who stiff contractors and subcontractors are lawyers who compound the misery by pursuing lawsuits which obviously have no merit. "Have no merit" means, among other things, lawsuits brought after the Statute of Limitations ran out.

    You do the math: When the Basses and Boedekkers "took the money out of the project" it was November 2004 and again in May 2005, according to Bankruptcy Court Document 1691.

    NRS 112.230 Limitation of Actions says, of this sort of lawsuit: "Except as otherwise provided in NRS 166.170, a claim for relief with respect to a fraudulent transfer or obligation under this chapter is extinguished unless action is brought:

    1. Under paragraph (a) of subsection 1 of NRS 112.180, within 4 years after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred or, if later, within 1 year after the transfer or obligation was or could reasonably have been discovered by the claimant;

    2. Under paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 112.180 or subsection 1 of NRS 112.190, within 4 years after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred; or

    3. Under subsection 2 of NRS 112.190, within 1 year after the transfer was made or the obligation was incurred.

    (Added to NRS by 1987, 13; A 1999, 1239)"

    The Nevada Statute of Limitations on this sort of claim is 4 years. Any simpleton can figure out that filing this "shakedown" lawsuit against some very rich people, with their own lawyers, will enrich no one but the lawyers for the project's creditors.

    That's a contractor's lot: Get stiffed by developers and then bled by your lawyer.


    Report abuse

    CynicalObserver wrote on October 20, 2009 04:50 PM: The theory these unsecured creditors are trying to use is called the "Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act". The law, passed in similar forms in numerous states, is designed for just this sort of circumstance.

    The only problem is the Statute of Limitations on this sort of claim, assuming Nevada law applies. Apparently, the defendants took the money out of the project in 2004, long before the real estate boom, and quite possibly the Statute of Limitations is now a defense.

    It will be interesting to see how the case turns out, because it's the same kind of claim the junior lien creditors and unsecured creditors of Stations Casinos are making noises about. In the case of Stations, the deal is so "new" the Statute of Limitations isn't a problem.


    Report abuse

    goblameobama wrote on October 20, 2009 03:52 PM: This is where this country's problems stem from: thieves, liars and insatiable greed. But, the talking heads call this captalism. BS, it's what's going to cause war. All of these supposed billionaires, hahaha... What they really are is murderers of other peoples lives. Well, I guess it's ok just blame Obama.


    Report abuse

    tim.everingham wrote on October 20, 2009 03:50 PM: HEY WARREN-- MET YOUR TOOTHLESS MOTHER ON THE STRIP AND SHE NEEDED EXTRA $100.00 FOR DENTURES SHE SAID SHE COULDN;T REALY ON HER LOW LIFE SON WARREN


    Report abuse

    Warren wrote on October 20, 2009 03:38 PM: Hey Pedro,
    Your daughter drop out of high school yet and join a gang? Just wondering.


    Read All Comments