HEARING POSTPONED REGARDING BARNEYS’ ASIAN AGREEMENTS
NEW YORK — Scheduled hearings on royalty payments Barneys Inc. says it is owed under the Asian license agreement and on properties that Isetan Co. Ltd. leased to Barneys were adjourned Friday after a closed session in the chambers of Judge James L. Garrity Jr.
Nothing was placed on the record, but there were battalions of attorneys for all sides involved. Gene Pressman, co-chairman of Barneys, was present in the courtroom, but was not invited to the 1 1/2-hour closed-door conference, which broke off with the hearings adjourned until Feb. 27.
Attorneys for Barneys, Isetan and the unsecured creditors committee declined to discuss the substance of the closed talks.
Friday’s hearings were to determine whether the leases on the Barneys flagship stores on Madison Avenue, Beverly Hills and Chicago were “true leases,” as well as whether the Asian license issues should be put on hold because it is the subject of a pending arbitration.