Mountain Creek Resort is asking a bankruptcy court to approve a "confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement" that would limit the ability of the township — and the public — to access certain bankruptcy-related documents, the New Jersey Herald reported today. The request comes as the resort seeks to be relieved of up to $26 million in contractually obligated sewer debt to the Vernon Township Municipal Utilities Authority assumed under the resort's prior ownership. If the court approves the request, it not only would render all financial statements and other material provided by Mountain Creek to the township as part of its chapter 11 filing off-limits to the public, but would also permit Mountain Creek, at its discretion, to declare certain records off-limits to the township's mayor, council and MUA commissioners. The terms indicate that Mountain Creek "shall have the right in [its] reasonable discretion to designate such Confidential Material as ‘for professionals' eyes only' or as ‘for attorneys' eyes only'" — meaning that the lawyers and other professionals working for Vernon would be prohibited from sharing the documentation with their own clients. Although the township could appeal any such designation, doing so would require the township to request a bankruptcy court hearing as to why the designation should be overturned. The proposed agreement would also allow Mountain Creek, at the conclusion of the proceedings, to compel Vernon's mayor, council and MUA to return any records provided to them by Mountain Creek or else destroy them, which would prevent any member of the public from later accessing them under the Open Public Records Act.
