This story was published by the Brattleboro Reformer on May 21, 2018.
[W]ILMINGTON — A Vermont judge has agreed to allow a receiver to take over a financially troubled private ski resort in Wilmington.
The Berkshire Bank, which has foreclosed on the Hermitage Club, asked the judge to appoint a receiver to oversee the property during the foreclosure.
Vermont Public Radio reports that on Friday Windham Superior Court Judge John Treadwell granted the bank’s motion.
Financial struggles have recently plagued the company, and the Vermont Department of Taxes shut down its operations in March because of missing tax payments.
Berkshire Bank filed for foreclosure in February, after the Hermitage failed to make payments on three loans totaling $17.1 million. Those properties include the company’s private ski resort at Haystack Mountain, the Hermitage Inn, a golf course, Chamonix townhouses, the Snow Goose Inn, the Horizon Inn, the Doveberry Inn, second homes under construction and other properties.
The foreclosure complaint has 35 liens from vendors and contractors for bills and claims the Hermitage could not pay.
At a recent hearing, the bank argued that the resort’s golf course needs to be maintained during the foreclosure and that the property needs to be prepared for next year’s ski season. Berkshire Bank has the right through its mortgage agreements to call for the appointment of a receiver before the sale of the properties.
Peter Landauer, a vice president who manages “above-average risk” loans for the bank, told the court the bank wants a receiver as long as it owns the note.
“I am trying to get this foreclosure processed through as quickly as I can,” Elizabeth Glynn, a Rutland attorney who represented Berkshire Bank, previously told the Reformer. “It’s probably the largest foreclosure I’ve been involved with. It might be one the biggest foreclosures in the state of Vermont.” She worried the properties would “deteriorate in value” if a receiver is not appointed to watch over the assets until they are sold.
Hermitage attorney Bob Fisher’s Brattleboro-based law office had filed an objection to the bank’s emergency motion on April 17 to appoint a receiver. Hermitage officials estimated it would take 100 hours to get a receiver familiar with the company’s assets. They believe local people with knowledge of the properties’ history would be better suited for solving issues and that would also protect local jobs.