Las Vegas Monorail bond insurer's case dismissal motion denied

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, April 26 - Las Vegas Monorail Co. municipal bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp.'s motion for dismissal of Las Vegas Monorail's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case was denied Monday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada.

As previously reported, Ambac said Las Vegas Monorail should be classified as a municipality under the Bankruptcy Code and is therefore not eligible to be a Chapter 11 debtor.

As a result, Ambac said the company is only eligible to file a Chapter 9 bankruptcy case.

According to judge Bruce A. Markell's ruling, Chapter 9 is a bankruptcy remedy restricted to municipalities, but also includes instrumentalities of the state.

Although Ambac contends that Las Vegas Monorail is an instrumentality of the state, Markell said it does not exhibit any of the characteristics required by the Bankruptcy Code or case law to be deemed an instrumentality.

The company, a Las Vegas non-profit monorail operator, filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 13. The Chapter 11 case number is 10-10464.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.