Country Club Clearing Up Chapter 11 : Reorganization: Bankruptcy Court judge confirms plan for posh Marbella golf facility in San Juan Capistrano.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has confirmed the reorganization plan for the posh Marbella Golf and Country Club in San Juan Capistrano.
Clearing the way for the club to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings by the end of the month, Judge James N. Barr issued his ruling late Wednesday after lawyers for various factions of the club’s 800 members and others huddled for much of the afternoon.
The club’s lawyer, Ron Bender, said Marbella will formally emerge from bankruptcy July 26 at the end of a 10-day appeal period. While objections could conceivably be raised in the interim, Bender said, all interested parties recognized by the court are in agreement.
He called the agreement “extraordinary” and noted: “You took an insolvent country club where the interests of the various membership (were) divergent. Now it’s a new club and the interests of the members are parallel.”
Marbella’s troubles began in September, when the developer who had been subsidizing the club suddenly turned the operation--and its $50,000 deficit--over to the membership.
For the well-heeled who had forked over as much as $100,000 to join the club, covering that kind of shortfall would ordinarily not have been a problem. But Marbella was created with a two-tier membership structure.
Founding members--those who had shelled out $29,500 apiece before the club was built--had never paid monthly dues and insisted that their favored status be maintained. But golfing members who had to pay $295 a month to maintain their good standing resented being stuck with the entire tab.
The dispute was resolved when both sides gave in. The founding members agreed to pay dues, which are expected to be between $150 and $200 a month, said a founding member and organizer, Jon D. Anderson. The dues-paying members agreed to pay $150 a month more than the founders, which means their initial monthly fees in the new club will probably be $300 to $350.
“With the joint plan of reorganization supported by virtually all members, . . . the club has the ability to become one of the finest golf and country clubs in Southern California,” club President Ronald I. Brendzel said in a statement Thursday. The plan “provides the framework for financial strength and viability for our great facility and golf course.”
As proof of the success of the compromise, only about a dozen balked at joining the new club, which requires sending a check for $1,500, Anderson said.
“It was a remarkable and unique result to have successful Chapter 11 come out this well,” he said. “Now all we have to worry about is keeping our heads down, and a slow backswing.”