Judge: Outside firm will run Tamarack

A judge said Wednesday that he’ll issue an order for an outside company to run troubled Tamarack Resort, a victory for Swiss bankers trying to recover $273 million from a syndicated loan to the central Idaho vacation destination.

Credit Suisse had demanded a receiver be appointed to replace existing Tamarack management, including Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Boespflug, largely on fear his plans to winterize the unfinished Village Plaza were inadequate to protect the asset that’s been pledged as collateral.

Credit Suisse maintains that new oversight is imperative because Tamarack’s unfinished six-building Village Plaza — some $75 million shy of completion — could be irreparably damaged by snow under the existing winterization plan favored by Boespflug.

Fourth District Judge Patrick H. Owen rejected a similar request for receivership in July.

If a receiver steps in, Credit Suisse has said it would extend a $10 million loan to fund a 90-day budget to pay for more extensive winterization and the cost of starting up the ski hill in December.

Court documents show a recent appraisal of the Valley County resort, conducted by Credit Suisse, valued it at just $234 million — nearly $40 million less than the resort owes the bank.

Owen told lawyers he would issue an order Oct. 31 outlining the role of the receiver.

Only a day earlier, Credit Suisse moved a step closer to taking control of the resort after a federal judge dismissed bankruptcy cases that had been protecting Boespflug and his partner, Chairman Alfredo Miguel, from Credit Suisse.

Boespflug and Miguel had pledged resort shares owned by companies they established as collateral, in the event the resort couldn’t repay the debt.

Boespflug owns 50.6 percent of Tamarack, including a 32 percent stake through his company, Cross Atlantic Real Estate LLC. Meanwhile, Miguel owns 26 percent through his holding company, VPG Investments.

Tamarack opened in 2004, selling itself to baby boomers as an all-season retreat. As real estate markets soured, so did Tamarack’s plans. Construction on the Village Plaza centerpiece stalled, tennis aces Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf canceled a luxury hotel project and two separate banks foreclosed on the resort’s conference center and employee housing.

There’s a third legal battle Boespflug and Miguel are fighting, too: a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in which Credit Suisse seeks to hold the two men personally accountable for some of Tamarack’s debts.