Pair Pitches Another Plan To Save Schweitzer Mother, Daughter Say They Have New Investors; Creditors Still Want Sale

The sale of Schweitzer Mountain Resort may be delayed again because of last-minute legal wrangling by attorneys for the ski hill and Pack River Limited Co.

In a motion filed last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boise, two of the ski hill’s owners said they have new investors willing to commit to a plan of reorganization. They’ve asked the court to reconsider a reorganization plan, considering the new investors’ assets of more than $351 million.

The investors are New York City-based real estate developer Original Ventures Inc., Texas-based real estate developer Resort Host International Corp. and Atlanta-based Financial Capital Co. of America, LLC.

Schweitzer and Pack River Limited are owned by the Brown family. Jean Brown and her daughter, Bobbie Huguenin, object to the creditors’ plan to sell the resort, although other members of the family are in favor of the sale.

Brown’s and Huguenin’s attorney, Ed McCabe, said the reorganization plan is a better deal for the ski area’s 150 to 200 creditors.

“They’ve asked the court to put their plan back on the table,” explained McCabe. “It’s really to give the creditors the choice and give the resort a chance without being sold off at auction.”

According to McCabe, under the owners’ plan the creditors would be paid off 100 percent, whereas under the plan to sell the resort, most creditors would get only half of what they’re owed.

However, U.S. Bank, owed $22.5 million as the the biggest creditor of the ski hill, may not get anything out of the owners’ plan. The bank’s attorney, Pete Holmes, said it’s unlikely the court would confirm Brown and Huguenin’s plan because of its treatment of the bank’s claim. He believes the recent motion is merely a stalling tactic.

The creditors already have voted to sell the resort. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday to confirm the sale plan.

Harbor Properties of Seattle had offered to buy Schweitzer for $18 million, but no agreement is in place. The sale could occur within a couple of months of confirmation, according to receiver Ford Elsaesser, a local attorney appointed by the court to run the ski hill.

But if confirmation is delayed, that could scare off potential buyers, creditors fear.

“Delaying or continuing the confirmation process would be prejudicial to the creditors, involving further expense and risk that a qualified sale would be sidetracked,” creditor Mickey Salloway said in a declaration to the court.

The attorney for the creditors committee said she’s skeptical about whether the new investors actually have the money to pull Schweitzer out of its financial straits.

The last investor that the ski hill owners found turned out to be bankrupt himself.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of information out there,” said attorney Nancy Isserlis. “It seems a little pale to me.”

U.S. Bank has guaranteed financing for this ski season, whether or not the Schweitzer resort is sold.

Susan Drumheller can be reached at (208) 263-6441 or by e-mail at susand@spokesman.com

What’s next A federal judge will consider the motion in a telephone hearing today.