Hotel, trailer park for sale; property owners question validity of foreclosure process

As part of its bankruptcy filing, Boulder Inn & Suites is up for sale.

According to court files, bids for the 113-room hotel, along with a mobile home park on Nevada Highway, will be accepted through Oct. 26. If more than one qualified bid is placed and accepted, the court will hold an auction Nov. 2.

The sale hearing to submit the winning bid for approval will be held at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25.

AMC Property Holdings, run by Bret Caruso, owns the hotel, the largest in Boulder City, while Stanley K. Holdings owns the mobile home park at 1501 Nevada Highway. Both properties are managed by Mario and Anneliese LLC, according to court records, and were under the umbrella of the Mario and Anneliese Caruso Revocable Family Trust until 2009.

In 1986, Anneliese Caruso secured a loan for AMC through the Boulder Dam Credit Union. In 2008, the credit union gave a single deed of trust loan to Mario and Anneliese LLC, a loan that was an extension of its previous agreement, in the amount of $3,493,999.

This loan was secured by Anneliese Caruso's home, as well as the hotel property and the mobile home park.

In addition to owing Boulder Dam Credit Union nearly $3.5 million, the debtors owe the Clark County treasurer $12,897.70, Horizon Surveys, a land surveying company, $3,310 and Go Glass window repair $533.04.

In the financial reports submitted to the bankruptcy court for August 2015, the hotel claims to have had no employees on payroll. The hotel also claims that for August its expenses were $77.96, and projected September's expenses to be $85.

In April, the court entered separate orders granting a motion to dismiss the original Chapter 11 bankruptcy claim and convert the case to Chapter 7. Three months later, AMC, Stanley K. Holdings and Anneliese Caruso informed Brian Shapiro, trustee over the Chapter 7 case, that they believed that the Boulder Dam Credit Union's deed of trust is defective and they intended to file a challenge to the credit union's seizure of property.

According to court documents, the original 2008 loan was to be paid with interest in monthly installments over a period of 20 years, with the final payment due on Feb. 29, 2028. After Mario Caruso's death in 2009, Anneliese Caruso claims that Boulder Dam Credit Union said it could offer a lower interest rate if she agreed to refinance the 2008 note.

On May 10, 2010, Anneliese Caruso executed the new promissory note for $3,697,346.61 in principal. Instead of the 20-year term of the original loan, the 2010 loan was to be repaid in 11 monthly payments, with a final balloon payment due May 10, 2011.

Anneliese Caruso again refinanced in 2011, obtaining a loan for $3,671,330.49, to repaid with interest over a three-year term, with a balloon payment due June 10, 2014.

In the case against Boulder Dam Credit Union, filed by AMC Property Holdings and Stanley K. Holdings, court records show that Anneliese Caruso tried to refinance again in 2014, but without any notice that it would not refinance, the credit union declared the 2011 loan to be in maturity default and immediately moved to foreclose on the hotel, mobile home park property and Anneliese Caruso's residence.

Their suit claims the credit union only listed Anneliese Caruso as the borrower. Because there is no writing establishing that AMC Property Holdings, Stanley K. Holdings or the Mario and Anneliese Revocable Family Trust — a distinct, legal entity that existed separate from Mario and Anneliese Caruso at the time the 2008 loan was made — were liable for payment of Mario and Anneliese Caruso's obligations under the 2008 loan, the note is void and unenforceable.

According to Nevada state law, every promise to answer for debt is void unless the agreement or some note is in writing and subscribed by the person charged.

Court records show that Shapiro believes that the sale of AMC Property and Stanley K. holdings' assets is in the best interest of the estates. The trustee also believes that sale by auction will bring in the most money for the estate and creditors.

Boulder Dam Credit Union CEO Eric Estes was not available, while Bret Caruso did not return any calls for comment.

Contact Randy Faehnrich at Rfaehnrich@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @RandyFaehnrich