Judge allows Tamarack to reorganize debt

BOISE - A federal bankruptcy judge agreed Friday to give Tamarack Resort a chance to reorganize its debt and ask creditors to change the terms of its loans rather than selling off all its assets to pay back creditors.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Terry Myers granted Tamarack's request to switch its involuntary bankruptcy case from Chapter 7 to a Chapter 11 proceeding.

If Tamarack can't reorganize its debt and pay back the loans, the judge may switch the case back to a Chapter 7 proceeding, directing a trustee to sell off Tamarack's assets and use the cash to pay back creditors.

Tamarack opened near Donnelly in 2004, but three years later its owners defaulted on a construction loan, prompting Credit Suisse to file for foreclosure in 2008. The foreclosure case is still under way in state court.

Late last year, four creditors asked that Tamarack be placed under involuntary bankruptcy protection, and the judge granted that request last month.

Tamarack co-owner and chief operating officer Jean-Pierre Boespflug said he plans to ask the bankruptcy court for permission to take on a new, super-priority loan to cover the cost of maintaining the resort over the next several months as well as the cost of marketing the business to potential buyers. Super-priority status would mean the new loan would be paid back before the creditors already waiting in line for cash.

In a prepared statement, Boespflug said the details would be outlined in a reorganization plan that will be filed with the court. He did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.