Edward LoBello and Thomas Slome Obtain Ground-Breaking Bankruptcy Court Decision

On October 8th, Meyer Suozzi Members Edward LoBello and Thomas Slome obtained a ruling of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (SDNY) recognizing the Singapore bankruptcy proceedings of Berau Capital, the financing arm of a large Asian coal mining conglomerate, as the "foreign main proceeding" pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. The ruling enabled Meyer Suozzi's client, the "foreign representative" of Berau Capital, who was appointed by a Singapore Court, to obtain the aid of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in furtherance of its global financial restructuring and the Singapore proceedings. In doing so, Mr. Slome and Mr. LoBello obtained a ground-breaking decision of the Bankruptcy Court that the bankruptcy requirement for a foreign debtor to have property located in the U.S. was satisfied by the foreign debtor's intangible contract rights under a Trust Indenture administered by Bank of New York Mellon as trustee for world-wide holders of $450 million in Berau Capital notes. The Bankruptcy Court's opinion is expected to be published and cited extensively by courts and practitioners in this burgeoning area of international insolvencies.