Animal welfare expert retained in Gulf World's bankruptcy case
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Since the April 11 standoff at the Dolphin Company's Cancun headquarters, lawyers for each side have filed contradicting preliminary statements.
Former Dolphin Company CEO Eduardo Albor's counsel fired back on Monday with a preliminary statement claiming they are in compliance with the Mexican bankruptcy court of law. They say Albor and his personnel were present at the headquarters with state law enforcement, while the debtors used municipal police.
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This all preceded the Tuesday morning emergency hearing in Delaware.
With court filings in both Mexico and Delaware, remaining in compliance with the law of both courts makes the Dolphin Company's case a bit trickier.
This creates a trickle down impact on the other entities involved in the case, including Gulf World Marine Park.
But despite the recent standoff at the Dolphin Company's headquarters in Cancun, all parties were present and ready to cooperate at Tuesday morning's hearing in Delaware.
'They had an entire boardroom full of all of the executives of the Dolphin Company that were appearing via Zoom. Plus, they had their Mexican counsel all present. So they were taking this matter very seriously. And they made a point to let the court know that Mr. Albor and the other board of directors respect the bankruptcy court's jurisdiction, and wanted to do everything they could to comply with the bankruptcy court order, so long as they didn't directly violate any of the orders they were issued by the Mexican courts,' Bankruptcy Attorney Michael Wynn, who's been following the case closely said.
The judge excused herself for a large part of the hearing so the parties could work things out informally.
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'The good news is, what that allowed the parties to be able to do was to negotiate some timelines on exchanging documents, exchanging information, and setting some loose discovery parameters so that they could take necessary depositions to get information out there in order to move this matter forward,' Wynn added.
One of the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's hearing is that the debtors' counsel has retained an animal welfare expert.
'They did indicate in court today that the animal welfare expert was already working with agencies to relocate some sea lions. It was unclear as to whether or not those were sea lions which were located here at Gulf World, or perhaps in Miami at the park there. But what they did make very clear is that they are taking the animal welfare seriously and are actively employing professionals to ensure that the animals are cared for,' said Wynn.
While Tuesday's hearing consisted heavily of negotiations during recess and outside of the presence of the judge, Wynn feels the May 5 hearing will be more definitive.
'I think it was important today that they disclose the animal welfare expert because that is the debtor's way of reviewing some of the things that they will likely talk about on May the fifth. For example, one of the things that they have to address on May the fifth, related to their financing motions and the requirements of the lender is they have to be able to discuss a risk mitigation and strategy for dealing with these animals in dealing with Gulf World Marine Park and other various parks that are run by the Dolphin Company and its subsidiaries,' Wynn added.
Wynn says by announcing the retention of an animal welfare expert, the debtors have displayed they are already in compliance with requirements that will most likely surface at the May 5 hearing.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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