The future of Colonial Golf & Country Club in Harahan will briefly return to the spotlight starting next week with a hearing in state district court in Gretna concerning the ongoing foreclosure proceedings. The Times-Picayune archives Attorneys for both sides have until the end of the month to submit briefs to the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, where...
The future of Colonial Golf & Country Club in Harahan will briefly return to the spotlight starting next week with a hearing in state district court in Gretna concerning the ongoing foreclosure proceedings.
Attorneys for both sides have until the end of the month to submit briefs to the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, where Colonial's major lender hopes to overturn a September ruling that halted the Sheriff's sale of the 83-year-old country club.
On Monday, Jefferson Parish District Court Judge Donnie Rowan will consider a request from the lender, Colonial Finance LLC, to be allowed to re-file for foreclosure and include the documentation that Rowan ruled was left out when the company filed initially in May.
Colonial Finance, owned by real estate developer Louis Lauricella, started foreclosure proceedings against the country club over a $4.5 million loan made to members in 2007. The company had hoped to recover the debt, which has swelled to more than $6 million with interest and fees, by putting the club up for auction.
But Rowan stopped the sale in October, granting an injunction and ruling that Colonial Finance had failed to submit the loan and development agreements when the company filed for an accelerated foreclosure process. Rowan refused to revisit the ruling during a November hearing.
"We don't believe as a legal matter that the loan agreement and development agreement should have been attached, but we're asking that we be allowed to attach it and proceed with the foreclosure," Colonial Finance attorney Stephen Dwyer said Wednesday.
Dwyer said his client is not admitting or agreeing to anything by filing the request to add the documents, only trying to alleviate the judge's concerns.
Colonial Finance, in fact, has appealed Rowan's ruling on the injunction. Once both sides have filed briefs, they will have an opportunity to file responses, Dwyer said. Then the court will set a date for oral arguments followed by a wait for a decision.
Jay Beatmann, attorney for Colonial Country Club, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Dwyer was unsure whether the company would proceed with the appeal should Rowan rule in Colonial Finance's favor. The appeal, he said, still has merit because it would establish the court's position on the matter.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Dwyer said.
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Michelle Hunter can be reached at mhunter@timespicayune.com or 504.883.7054.