Complaint order filed to griesa

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Italian bondholders seek same benefits as ‘vulture funds’

Italian bondholders filed a complaint order to United States District Judge Thomas Griesa asking to be given the same benefits as Aurelius Management and NML Management, the “vulture funds” that were authorized by Griesa to be paid the full debt Argentina has with them.

It’s the first official demand of the so-called “me too” group, bondholders who did not accept the terms of the 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring but who have not taken legal action against the country and were thus not covered by the ruling filed by Griesa.

The complaint, which was filed on September 25 but was made public this week, was issued by the well-known law firm Duane Morries, which represents more than 200 Italian bondholders and one bondholder that lives in the Bahamas. Judge Griesa has refrained from granting similar me-too injunctions so far but the complaint opens a new door in the long-term legal case.

The firm said that most of the Italian bondholders were granted favourable rulings by Griesa between 2007 and 2009 concerning the Argentine debt. Nevertheless, they weren’t included in the additional ruling in which NML, Aurelius and other smaller holdouts were authorized to be paid the full debt that they hold.

Most of the bondholders represented by Morries work side by side with Paul Singer, billionaire and head of Elliott Management. They were even invited to speak at a conference of the American Task Force Argentina (ATFA), the lobby group created by Singer. The conference was held in January 29 and was titled “savings of a life time evaporated by the broken promises of a government?.”

In a rare move, Griesa held Argentina in contempt of court last Monday, saying the country is taking “illegal” steps to evade his orders in the longstanding dispute with hedge funds over defaulted debt. Nevertheless, Griesa, who has overseen the litigation in New York for years, put off a decision on imposing sanctions on the country and issued a clear warning that the country must stop efforts to get around his rulings by making payments in Argentina.

— Herald with Télam