Zetta Jet, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring last month, has received a few key court rulings that will enable the company to continue with bankruptcy proceedings and pay key debtors. The court also agreed to the company’s request for a court-appointed trustee to manage the restructuring process.
Zetta Jet Pte., the Singapore-based parent company for the charter operator, and its U.S. subsidiary, Zetta Jet USA, filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on September 15. That filing had been contested by key shareholders, including former managing director Geoffery Cassidy and Li Qui, who immediately had sought to halt the proceedings by obtaining an injunction from the Singapore High Court. In a statement, Cassidy noted that the company had sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection “without the authority of the majority shareholders.”
But Zetta Jet said the “recent emergency injunction ordered by a Singapore Court to stop the Chapter 11 proceedings was null and void given that a Singapore Court has no jurisdiction in U.S. federal bankruptcy court."
The court agreed to join the Zetta Jet Pte. and Zetta Jet USA bankruptcy cases and further granted the request for a trustee over the objections of Li Qui, who told the court that such an appointment would be an “extraordinary remedy” and be accomplished before facts surrounding the proceeding were fully explored.
Zetta Jet president and CEO Michael Maher, however, said, “We believe that having an independent and impartial trustee in place to oversee the business as well as the company’s Chapter 11 restructuring protects the interests of all of our stakeholders and is the best course to ensure the smooth operation of our business throughout the proceedings.”
In another key decision, the court granted Zetta Jet’s petition to pay certain critical vendors to enable the company to continue operations. “The court’s approval of our critical vendor motion is another positive step in our efforts to restructure our debt while continuing to provide safe, reliable and luxurious service to our customers,” Maher said. “We also appreciate the ongoing partnership of our customers and suppliers, and thank our employees for their continued dedication."
