Colony Lender appeals ruling

Colony Lender LLC, the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort’s largest affected creditor in the Tampa-based U.S. Bankruptcy court case, filed a motion this week to appeal the judge’s decision to stay decisions and suspend a scheduled foreclosure sale in early December.

“Per Colony Lender, the question presented on appeal is ‘whether the bankruptcy court erred in re-imposing the automatic stay and cancelling the foreclosure sale in favor of further consideration of an illegal and improper proposed (settlement) plan and disclosure statement,” wrote attorney R. David Jackson in a Dec. 18 email to commissioners.

Jackson said the appeal motion “reiterates the reasons that Colony Lender believes the proposed plan is improper.”

“In addition to having the court’s order vacated, the relief sought by Colony Lender is for the stay to be modified to permit the foreclosure sale,” Jackson wrote.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge K. Rodney May will make a decision on a proposed Colony settlement agreement on Jan. 27 and will review the appeal at that time.

In the proposed settlement, a U.S. bankruptcy Chapter 7 trustee receives $2.3 million and $3 million is given to longtime Colony Beach & Tennis Resort owner Dr. Murray “Murf” Klauber, An amendment to the settlement proposed Dec. 3 revealed that Colony Beach & Tennis Resort unit owner and developer Andy Adams and his entities have agreed to resolve issues with the proposed settlement. That agreement also calls for giving $400,000 to be paid to creditors, $75,000 to Carolyn Field through the Field Trust and $25,000 to Adams through Breakpointe LLC.

Colony Lender, the case’s largest affected creditor, is still left wondering what it receives and when it receives it, which is the reason they are appealing May’s decision.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].