 
Mexican Officials File Amicus Curiae in Vitro Appeal
October 17, 2012
by Casey Neeley, cneeley@glass.com
The U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit has granted Mexico
a motion for leave to file a late Amicus Curiae brief in
the Vitro S.A.B. bankruptcy appeal case. Mexican officials filed
the motion for leave and Amicus Curiae Monday in the Fifth
Circuit.
In the brief, officials ask that the U.S. court reverse its bankruptcy
decision and uphold Mexican bankruptcy law under the Ley de Concursos
Mercantiles (LCM).
"The decision below constitutes the first time since Mexico modernized
its bankruptcy laws in the year 2000 that a U.S. court has refused
to enforce a Mexican insolvency decision," say officials in the
brief.
Officials add that they are concerned with the "appropriate recognition
of each nation's judgments, not in an outcome that favors one party
over another."
"This case highlights Mexico's interest in the international recognition
of judgments rendered under the LCM," reads the brief. "The degree
of media attention devoted to this case, as well as the risk that
the decision will be perceived as a commentary on the Mexican legal
system generally, gives rise to a strong sovereign interest. And
of course, under Article 280 of the LCM, if the decision below is
upheld, then it may substantially complicate further bankruptcy
cooperation between courts in the United States and Mexico-a cooperative
relationship that has been robust and fruitful for both nations."
Officials ask that the court "afford comity to the Concurso
plan" and note that "Mexican courts did not deny comity to the New
York court."
Vitro spokesperson Roberto Riva Palacio says that, "We are in full
support of the Mexican government's brief as a friend of the court
with regard to Vitro's appeal to the Fifth Circuit. We applaud the
Mexican government's desire to see Mexican reorganizations enforced
in the United States, just as they have been consistently under
Chapter 15 thus far."
Vitro began its appeal
arguments October 3 against a Texas bankruptcy court ruling
in
June to not enforce Vitro's Mexican Plan of Reorganization in
the United States.
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