WILLEMSTAD – The director of the former Howard Johnson hotel in Otrobanda has been held personally liable for a debt of more than 400,000 guilders owed to development bank Korpodeko. That follows a ruling on appeal by the Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie.
The court ruled that the director was jointly and severally liable for the loans of the now-bankrupt hotel company and must therefore repay the outstanding amount personally.
The case concerns loans provided by Korpodeko to the operator of the Howard Johnson hotel, Caribbean Hospitality Management (CHM). After the hotel company went bankrupt, a debt of approximately 404,000 guilders remained unpaid. Because the director had personally co-signed the loan agreements, Korpodeko pursued him directly.
In the initial proceedings, the director prevailed, but the Court of Appeal overturned that judgment and largely granted Korpodeko’s claim. According to the court, the director qualifies as a joint debtor alongside the bankrupt company and can therefore be held personally responsible for the full debt.
The director argued that Korpodeko had failed to sufficiently enforce its rights against the hotel’s collateral, such as the hotel inventory, and had thus breached its duty of care. The court rejected that argument.
Based on the case file, the judges found that the hotel company had struggled with debts to multiple parties for years and that Korpodeko had taken concrete steps to safeguard its position. These included opposing enforcement measures and later entering into a settlement that allowed the bank to receive part of the proceeds from auctioned assets.
The court ruled that Korpodeko was not required to exhaust every possible legal avenue or to follow all solutions proposed by the director. As a result, there was no breach of the bank’s duty of care.
Because the director personally co-signed the loans and Korpodeko made sufficient efforts to recover the debt, he must now pay the outstanding amount of more than 404,000 guilders, plus interest and legal costs.