Judge appoints examiner in Fontainebleau case

BANGALORE Oct 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge has appointed restructuring expert Jeffrey Truitt as examiner to oversee the sale of the unfinished and bankrupt Fontainebleau casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, court filings showed.

In September, a group of creditors of Fontainebleau had asked the Florida court to convert the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation.

Judge A. Jay Cristol said earlier this month that the appointment of an examiner to negotiate and oversee the sale was more economical than converting the case to a liquidation, which would have been overseen by a trustee.

Fontainebleau filed for bankruptcy protection in June after its lenders terminated commitments to provide nearly $800 million of construction funds, leaving the 3,800-room casino and resort project unfinished.

Truitt is a principal at restructuring firm XRoads Solutions Group, and has worked as an advisor on restructurings in the gaming, hospitality, entertainment, restaurant and manufacturing industries in the past, according to his firm's website.

The case is In re Fontainebleau Las Vegas Holdings LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 09-21481. (Reporting by Santosh Nadgir; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)