Carter Hawley Creditors Lose Round in Court : * Retailing: A bankruptcy judge says they can’t file a $1-billion claim against the financially ailing company.

A bankruptcy judge Thursday denied creditors of Carter Hawley Hale Stores Inc. the authority to file a claim for $1 billion in damages, stymieing their efforts to recoup money from the financially ailing retailer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Dooley denied a motion by a creditors committee seeking to reclaim money from Carter Hawley directors, in a claim that stemmed from the controversial 1987 restructuring of the West’s largest retailer.

The company is reorganizing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The ruling leaves the creditors committee in the lurch, at least temporarily, while its lawyers decide on their next move. It also removes a potential liability against the company and could speed the chain’s emergence from bankruptcy.

Bennett L. Silverman, an attorney who represents the creditors, said he will meet soon with the committee members to decide whether to appeal the decision.”The committee will do what it can do,” he said immediately after the decision.

The creditors committee hoped for the authority to go ahead with a fraudulent conveyance claim. Such claims are used by creditors to win back money after companies allegedly fail to receive a fair price for their assets during a restructuring, leaving the company too crippled financially to continue operating successfully.

The creditors committee questions whether the restructuring, intended to solve the retailer’s cash flow problems, doomed the company by loading it with more debt than it could bear.

In documents filed in bankruptcy court last month, the creditors committee named as defendants in their fraudulent conveyance claim several directors of Carter Hawley who oversaw parts of the restructuring. They also named Chairman Philip M. Hawley, as well as General Cinema Corp., which in 1987 was Carter Hawley’s largest shareholder and received the company’s Neiman Marcus Group in the restructuring.

Judge Dooley’s decision means that a special committee appointed by Carter Hawley directors will lead efforts to deciding the financially ailing retailer’s fate. The special committee--composed of four outside directors who joined the board after the controversial 1987 restructuring--is investigating the company’s restructuring.

The group said it will issue a report about its investigation by Nov. 15. At that time, it may choose to file its own fraudulent conveyance claim.

The creditors committee has maintained that there are ties between that investigative body and Carter Hawley that might sway the special committee from suing the company for damages. But Dooley was not swayed Thursday by the creditors committee assertion that it was the proper body to bring charges against the financially ailing retailer.

The creditors committee is not without options to recoup funds. On Thursday, a Chicago-based investment partnership amended a tender offer to buy into Carter Hawley for $240 million, a $20-million increase. In return, Zell/Chilmark will become the majority shareholder in Carter Hawley.

The amended offer comes less than a month after Zell/Chilmark’s first surprise bid to pull the retailer out of bankruptcy quickly. Carter Hawley, which has agreed to the amended offer, is waiting to see if the creditors will also approve.

Zell/Chilmark, a $1-billion investment fund, said its offer expires Sept. 16, pushing back the original deadline of Sept 5. In the original bid, the fund offered creditors 40% of the amount Carter Hawley says it owes them.

In the new bid, Zell/Chilmark also allows creditors to file a claim with an escrow agent for any contested amount. After the creditor and Carter Hawley settle on the contested amount, the creditor will receive 40% of that amount plus interest, the fund announced.

To date, Zell/Chilmark Fund is the only bidder for Carter Hawley.