Court throws out Amex's claim against Ometraco

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Commercial Court dismissed on Tuesday the bankruptcy request filed by the Singapore branch of American Express Bank against publicly listed PT Ometraco Corporation.

Presiding judge R. Joedijono said the request could not be accepted because the bank's charge against Ometraco overlapped with a previous claim against the same company.

Amex, a unit of the American Express Corporation, filed the bankruptcy claim on Sept. 7 after Ometraco failed to repay a US$50 million loan.

Amex had earlier filed a suit against Ometraco for its failure to repay $125 million owed by its subsidiary Ometraco Multi Artha.

Joedijono ruled that Ometraco, which served as a corporate guarantor of the $125 million loan, could not be tried in the commercial court on different charges for the same case.

"The charge filed by Amex cannot be accepted in view of legal terms," Joedijono said pronouncing the verdict.

The court can issue rulings of "reject", "unacceptable" or "acceptable" on claims.

Rejection of Amex's request was categorized under the term "unacceptable".

The decision was the first since the commercial court opened on Aug. 20.

Joedijono said after the hearing that the plaintiff should have filed only one charge instead of two charges against Ometraco.

He said the plaintiffs could appeal to the Supreme Court if they were not satisfied by the court's decision.

"The plaintiffs may propose an appeal to the Supreme Court and it has eight days to propose the deal," he said, adding the plaintiff would also be required to pay court costs of Rp 5 million.

Amex attorney Kitty Sugondo Kramadibrata of Kramadibrata, Karim, Sani and Manihuruk argued outside the court that the decision would set a bad precedent for implementation of the bankruptcy law.

"Foreign investors, who have long lost confidence in Indonesia, will be terribly disappointed by the decision," she said angrily.

Ometraco lawyer Tony Budidjaja of Dermawan & Co said his client was pleasantly surprised by the ruling.

"We never thought that the panel of judges would come up with such a decision."

Chairman of the Jakarta Corporate Lawyer Club Hotman Paris Hutapea said on Tuesday explanations remained fuzzy on the new bankruptcy law. (aly)