Fontainebleau Investor Avoids Disaster with Favorable Settlement

Fri, Jan 30, 2015

With the collapse of the Las Vegas project Fontainebleau, hotelier Jeffrey Soffer was in court with creditors, who sought out a claim of $2 billion against Soffer. A bankruptcy judge, however, has ordered Soffer to pay only $27.5 million to creditors, of which $25 million will be covered by insurance.

Wealthy hotelier Jeffrey Soffer may have not won the lottery with his Las Vegas plan, but it might feel like it after what could have been. With his Fontainebleau Las Vegas project completely collapsing, the bankruptcy trustee were seeking a claim o billion against Soffer.

Much to his delight, Miami-based U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol approved a settlement which will see creditors receive $27.5 million, while Soffer waived the $675 million in claims against he company. Insurance will cover $25 million while Soffer will pay the remaining $2.5 million out of pocket. With a net worth exceeding $1 billion, Soffer will be able to absorb the loss easily.

Previously, in a settlement the term lenders agreed to collect $93 million from the insurance policy and another $5 million from Soffer. Under the terms of the recent settlement, the lenders will not be able to collect more than $2 million from the $27.5 million settlement.