Caesars dispute to be heard in Chicago, federal judge rules

A legal battle between junior and senior creditors of the bankrupt division of Caesars Entertainment Corp. should be heard in Chicago rather than New York, a Manhattan federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

The Chapter 11 filing by the largest casino operator in the United States, CEOC, has been marked by bitter feuding among creditors over everything from when, where and how the bankruptcy was filed.

In this case, senior creditors led by Credit Suisse had sought to pursue a lawsuit against junior creditors, including units of Appaloosa Management and Oaktree Capital Management, in New York rather than Chicago, where CEOC filed for bankruptcy.

U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin agreed with the junior creditors that it would be more efficient and would likely help resolve the bankruptcy case to send the Credit Suisse case to Chicago.

CEOC filed for bankruptcy in January and its parent has been trying to avoid that fate while the operating unit attempts to reach a consensus with creditors on restructuring its roughly $18 billion debt load.

Based in Las Vegas, Caesars was created through the 2008 buyout of the former Harrah's Entertainment.