HOLLIDAYSBURG - Three Atlantic City casinos have filed judgments totaling more than $625,000 against embattled Altoona businessman Gregory S. Morris.
The three casino judgments were filed Tuesday in the Blair County Courthouse by Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Marina Hotel Casino and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.
Morris owes $228,223 to Trump Taj Mahal, $190,778 to Trump Marina and $206,821 to Trump Plaza, court documents state. The judgments were filed in Atlantic County, N.J., Civil Court last September and now have been transferred to Blair County, where Morris lives.
Reached by phone, Morris said Wednesday that the debts are personal loans from the casinos and not unpaid gambling debts.
Morris, who owns a real estate development company and has spurred the development of many local businesses including Logan Town Centre, the Hampton Inn, several personal care homes and many restaurants, voluntarily filed for protection in May under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
The filing came after his primary business partners complained they were not receiving their fair share of money and that Morris was not communicating with them. They asked Blair County President Judge Jolene G. Kopriva to intervene, and she appointed a receiver for the businesses.
Morris then filed his bankruptcy petition, and the legal proceedings have been on hold for weeks until it can be determined whether the state court or federal court has jurisdiction.
Morris lists 61 unpaid creditors. He has $571,703 in assets and $41.9 million in liabilities, which include bank loans for his many projects, bankruptcy court documents state.
The attorney who filed the judgments on behalf of the casinos, Jay C. Scheinfield of Upper Darby, said he couldn't discuss the reasons behind them.
No representatives from the casinos were available to discuss the judgments, but Morris and his attorney, John Lacher of Pittsburgh, described the debts as personal loans and not gambling markers. The loans did not involve his business partners, but they were among the 61 creditors listed in his bankruptcy filings, Morris said.
Filing judgments at this point would be a violation of bankruptcy regulations, Lacher said. But the judgments from the New Jersey casinos were made final in Atlantic County before Morris sought bankruptcy protection.
The casino judgments will be dealt with in the bankruptcy proceedings, which are before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeffery A. Deller in Pittsburgh, Lacher said. The court will review a reorganization plan and eventually decide an amount each creditor will receive to satisfy the stated debt.
When Morris was asked Tuesday if the judgments stemmed from gambling, he initially said he was not answering questions about his personal finances.
He angrily proclaimed that it was unfair to focus on three out of 61 debts, and he also claimed that people owe him money, including his business partners, a fact he said is never mentioned.
Morris has claims of $1.35 million against partners Dr. Carroll Osgood and his wife, Diane, and claims of $1.78 million against the estate of Joseph Ventura, debts that are in dispute, bankruptcy filings state.
Ventura, an Altoona businessman, died in 2009 and was a silent partner with Morris in most of his enterprises.
While months, if not years, of court proceedings are on the horizon, Morris said he is hoping that his problems can be resolved outside the court system. This would include a settlement with his present partners, refinancing his present loans and a new business partner.
He still has several projects he wants to complete, such as a Hilton Hotel near Logan Town Centre.
"This is business," he said, in explaining that investors change from time to time.
Morris said there has been "no impropriety [in his business dealings], just hard work that has created good businesses, good jobs and good taxes for the community."
Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.
