Caribbean Net News – Bear Stearns Cos.two bankrupt Cayman Islands hedge funds have asked for more time to argue their appeal after legal experts and one of Bear Stearns’s own entities said they support an initial decision denying the funds US protection.
In a letter to US District Judge Robert Sweet in New York on Wednesday, Bear Stearns asked to have until January 4 to file its opposition to two friend-of-the-court briefs supporting US Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland’s decision. Lifland denied the funds permanent protection in the US under Chapter 15 of the bankruptcy code while their primary bankruptcy case proceeds in the Cayman Islands.
Chapter 15 shields insolvent foreign companies from creditors in US courts. One of the opposition statements was filed November 28 by professors who drafted the bankruptcy code that Bear Stearns is challenging in its appeal.
