Sovereign Debt

Assassination and Bankruptcy

12/11/12

How's that for a catchy title?

I was inspired by an interesting post over at Lawfare, where the author notes that the term "assassination" has a specialized meaning in legal circles – namely, it involves an unlawful killing – whereas in the popular imagination the term basically refers to any sort of covert killing, particularly those with national security implications.

[more]

Putting the E(lliot) in Sovereign Debt Enforcement...

12/10/12

Until a month or so ago, you could have asked almost any economist or political scientist whether sovereign borrowers worry about legal enforcement, and, by way of answer, you would gotten a technical version of "Huh?" Academics disagree about why sovereigns repay loans, but almost no one thinks they do so to avoid being sued. So although bond investors are technically entitled to sue sovereign borrowers, there is no evidence that these formal legal entitlements actually impact the likelihood of repayment. That's why NML v.

[more]

Updated: The procedure of litigating pari passu?

11/28/12

Lots of activity in the pari passu litigation: The lawyers for the exchange bondholders have been working overtime, filing an emergency motion to stay Judge Griesa's injunction (just granted here!) and asking the Second Circuit to let them intervene in the appeal.

[more]

Something for the Amicus Brief?

11/27/12

In the Argentine appeal?

This weekend I found myself reading an 1829 edition of American Jurist and Law Magazine (it's a long story, but says much about my social life), and came across the following:

[more]

Et Tu, FT? (Pari Passu Edition)

11/25/12

Laugh, cry, give up: the Financial Times editorial argues for Supreme Court review of Judge Griesa's decision because not enough countries use collective act

[more]

NML v. Argentina: No love for exchange bondholders

11/22/12

Anna Gelpern has already posted on the pari passu wipeout of Argentina. As she noted, NML got pretty much everything it wanted. By contrast, the exchange bondholders got no love whatsoever. The district judge dismissed their argument that it was unfair for NML to get 100 cents on the dollar when they had received only 30.

[more]

Pari Passu Wipeout in the Southern District

11/22/12

Christmas came early to Elliottville. Judge Griesa issued an amended order and two opinions that shoo away just about all the arguments that Argentina, the exchange bondholders, the various intermediaries and fellow travelers tried to fling in the way of his injunction.

[more]

Allied Bank revisited?

11/17/12

Last Friday was the filing deadline set by (a rather irked) Judge Griesa for Argentina and interested third parties in that country's long-running battle with NML and other restructuring holdouts.

[more]

Pari Passu Endgames

11/13/12

It was supposed to be a scheduling hearing, and I was supposed to be in New York for a conference. So I popped by Judge Griesa's courtroom on Friday to see about next steps in NML v. Argentina, and stumbled into a rave.

[more]