Sault Ste. Marie Tribe
Greektown Bankruptcy — New Financing Filings
Looks like they need $46 million more (news article).
greektown-motion-for-additional-financing
greektown-proposed-order-re-new-financing
greektown-proposed-credit-agreement-part-1
greektown-proposed-credit-agreement-part-2
greektown-proposed-credit-agreement-part-3
greektown-proposed-credit-agreement-part-4
Greektown & Motor City Credit Rating Downgraded
From Crain’s Detroit Business:
wo Detroit casinos are rolling snake eyes in the debt market.
A top ratings service downgraded its outlook for MotorCity Casino‘s parent company, citing a host of financial concerns. Greektown Holdings L.L.C. has until the end of this week to submit a reorganization plan that can resolve its swelling debts without need for a sale.
An agreement entered in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last month between the troubled Greektown Casino owners and its creditors gives the parties until Feb. 1 to submit a “co-exclusive” plan to restructure and settle its debts.
In other words, if the casino company doesn’t submit a plan — with the consent of as many bondholders and other litigants as possible — by the deadline, creditors can submit restructuring plans of their own.
US Drops Appeal of Soo Tribe Gaming Lands Case
From Indianz (the lower court opinion is here):
The federal government has dropped its appeal of a gaming case involving the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan.
The tribe spent $41 million on the Kewadin Shores Casino but the National Indian Gaming Commission said the site didn’t qualify under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The land was taken into trust after 1988, the year IGRA became law. A federal judge disagreed, noting that the casino site is adjacent to land that was already in trust prior to 1988. The Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal but withdrew it this week, the Associated Press reported.
Get the Story:
Legal threat to Indian tribe’s Mich. casino over (AP 1/15)
Michigan Supreme Court Grants Leave to Appeal in In re Lee
This is an ICWA case involving the meaning of “active efforts” under Michigan law. The petitioner is the Michigan Dept. of Human Services, and tribe involved is the Sault Tribe. The docket number is 137653. Here are the opinions from the Michigan Court of Appeals:
in-re-lee-partial-concurrence-dissent
From the order granting leave to appeal:
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 16, 2008 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed (1) whether the term “active efforts” in 25 USC 1912(d) requires a showing that there have been recent rehabilitative efforts designed to prevent the breakup of that particular Indian family; and (2) whether the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of 25 USC 1912(f) requires contemporaneous evidence that the continued custody of the Indian child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child before parental rights may be terminated.
Greektown Casino Bankrupty Materials — Motion to Extend Time
Here is a selection of materials on the Greektown Holdings LLC’s motion to extend its planning period for finalize bankruptcy for 90 days. Other materials are here.
greektown-motion-to-extend-planning-period
Creditors Object to Greektown Reorganization Plan
From the Detroit News:
DETROIT — Greektown Casino LLC, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, shouldn’t get an exclusive right until June 1 to file a turnaround plan, a group of creditors and a U.S. government representative told a judge.
Greektown’s request to block competing plans for more than eight months beyond the current Sept. 26 deadline should be denied because the company can realistically gauge its success long before then, U.S. Trustee Daniel McDermott said in an objection filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.
“The court should not permit the debtors to remain in Chapter 11 in a shroud of secrecy” while ” keeping other potential plan proponents off the playing field for such an extensive length of time,” McDermott said in the filing.
Closely held Greektown won court approval last June to borrow $150 million to continue operations and construction of a new hotel and gaming floor. McDermott questioned the viability of the company’s projected future operations during an economic decline in the U.S.
“The question that must be answered is whether the projections are reasonable for the foreseeable future in the given economic and political milieu in Detroit,” McDermott said in the filing.
Objections also were filed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board and the official committee of unsecured creditors.
Greektown sought court protection from creditors on May 29, citing cost overruns in a $332 million expansion. It opened in 2000, four years after Michigan citizens voted to legalize three gambling facilities in Detroit. It employs about 1,976 people, and attracts 15,800 visitors a day, the company said.
New Chairman for Sault Ste. Marie Tribe
From the tribal press release via Soo Today:
2008 general election results
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – The Sault Tribe membership will welcome in a new chairman this year. Darwin (Joe) McCoy successfully defeated incumbent Chairperson Aaron Payment 3,853 to 3,495 to become the fourth chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
“I am really humbled about how things turned out. I look forward to working with our team members, the new and existing board members, and working for our tribal members. I would also like to thank all my supporters and look forward to bringing the tribe into better times,” stated Chairman-Elect Joe McCoy.
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