The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

Baha Mar was yesterday granted leave to appeal Justice Ian Winder’s decision to deny recognition of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States.

“We’re quite pleased. Whenever you make an application and your application is granted, you’re pleased that that has happened,” attorney Patrick Ryan, who was representing Baha Mar, said of the court’s decision to allow the developer’s appeal.

Mr Ryan appeared for attorney Roy Sweeting, of Glinton, Sweeting and O’Brien, who had appeared for Baha Mar during its application for the recognition of the  Chapter 11 proceedings.

    Justice Winder’s granting leave to Baha Mar comes two weeks after he rejected the resort’s application for an order recognising the bankruptcy proceedings underway in Deleware.

Government attorney, Loren Klein, yesterday opposed Baha Mar’s application to appeal, suggesting it would be a “waste of time”, “hopeless” and “bound to fail”.

  It was also opposed by Sophia Rolle-Kapousouzoglou,  who appeared for the China Export-Import Bank; Lester Mortimer QC, who appeared for Cable Bahamas; and Sean Moree, attorney for China Construction America (CCA) Bahamas.

    Justice Winder last week adjourned proceedings on the Government’s petition to wind-up Baha Mar to August 19-20, after it was revealed that Baha Mar’s contractor had expressed reservations about the appointment of PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as provisional liquidators for the $3.5 billion project. 

Tribune Business exclusively disclosed last week that PwC’s Chinese arm is the external auditor of CCA’s Beijing-based parent, China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The Government has already approached Ernst and Young (Bahamas) as potential replacements for PwC.