Court throws out Amex's claim against Ometraco

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)