We have previously reported on an appeal pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit arising out of the Chapter 15 case of Ocean Rig UDW Inc. As we summarized at that time:
The appeal relates to an April 2018 order of U.S. District Court Judge John Koeltl holding, among other things, that a purported shareholder lacked standing to challenge a. U.S. Bankruptcy Court's recognition of Cayman Islands Provisional Liquidation Proceedings as a foreign main proceeding under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code because the company was insolvent at the time. This insolvency caused the shareholder to not be an "aggrieved person" even though the Cayman scheme provided for old shareholders to receive a small (0.02%) portion of the new equity in order to avoid the company having to re-register the shares on the NASDAQ.
As an update, the debtors/appellees have now filed their brief with the Second Circuit and the appellant/petitioner has filed her reply brief. Copies of both are embedded below. In addition, both the appellant and the appellees have filed notices that they want oral arguments before the Second Circuit.
While we don't normally provide a lot of coverage to filings involving pro se litigants, this appeal is unique in at least two ways. First, the pro se appellant is an experienced bankruptcy/restructuring attorney who is also the Coordinating Editor, International for the American Bankruptcy Institute according to her Twitter profile. Therefore, she has a background particularly relevant to litigation involving recognition of a foreign main proceeding under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Second, approximately two-thirds of all Chapter 15 proceedings were filed in bankruptcy courts within the Second Circuit according to the most recent annual data available from the U.S. Courts. As a result, any precedential ruling from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will be particularly impactful.
Additional background resources:
- S.D.N.Y. Dismisses Chapter 15 Appeal By Purported Shareholder On Standing And Equitable Mootness Grounds
- Opinion & Order on Appeal Addressing Shareholder Standing in Chapter 15 Cases of Insolvent Foreign Companies
- Appellant/Petitioner's Brief (In Re: Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Second Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 18-1374)
Appellees/Debtors' Brief (In Re: Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Second Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 18-1374) by Chapter 11 Dockets on Scribd
Appellant/Petitioner's Reply Brief (In Re: Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Second Circuit Court of Appeals Case No. 18-... by Chapter 11 Dockets on Scribd