Colony judge enters orders

Town attorney David Persson alerted the Longboat Key Town Commission in an email Thursday that a bankruptcy judge officially entered orders Wednesday that awards more than $20 million in damages to longtime Colony owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber, his partnership with the association and the resort's unit owners.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May granted a $20,646,312 damages award without restoring the partnership, which kept control of the units with the owners.

The damages money would be used to pay a list of Colony creditors before Klauber and other limited partners could receive any money.

Colony Association President Jay Yablon has stated the association expected May’s decision and it plans to appeal the rulings in an Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals courtroom.

An appeal in Atlanta could take another two years and would most likely be the final decision rendered, unless the U.S. Supreme Court gets involved. All affected Colony parties continue to state that a settlement among all parties is the quickest way to revitalize a resort that has sat abandoned since 2009.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].