| Washington, D.C. (January 9, 2013) - Arguments raised by Argentina and other parties in the pari passu case are unlikely to prevail and The Second Circuit's initial ruling remains intact despite various appeals to the decision.In a teleconference held yesterday by the American Taskforce Argentina (ATFA), legal experts familiar with the NML v. Argentinacourt case weighed in on a number of topics regarding the recent legal proceedings and how they fail to effectively refute the Second Circuit decision."Despite an effort by Argentina to argue that the pari passu clause was meaningless, the Second Circuit rejected their argument," explained Paul J. Keenan, an Attorney at Greenberg Traurig. "It is very rare for the Second Circuit to grant a rehearing en banc and for the Supreme Court to grant cert on an issue of state law such as this, so it is very likely that this decision will stand with regard to interpretation of the language in the bonds."
The legal experts surmised that the appellate argument is legally inappropriate and beyond the scope of the court's jurisdiction to determine equity. In reality, the only thing that Argentina's filing demonstrates is that its so-called 'Lock Law' is not inviolable.
"This is simply a publicity stunt to paint the holdouts as uncooperative," noted Richard Samp, Chief Counsel for the Washington Legal Foundation. "In reality, the terms that Argentina is now offering to the legacy bondholders are far short of what was offered in the 2005 and 2010 exchanges, which were both rejected by the plaintiffs."
Judge Thomas P. Griesa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on November 21 issued an order that would enforce the Second Circuit's October 26 holding. On November 28, the Second Circuit stayed Judge Griesa's order and set forth a series of filing deadlines for briefs from various parties to the case, to occur over the coming weeks.
"Argentina has dragged its heels for ten years and the status of this case is deeply troubling. Since defaulting on $81 billion in 2001, federal courts have noted numerous times Argentina's appalling record of keeping its promises. In response, they have gloated to the world about their unwillingness to pay, " said Robert Raben, Executive Director of American Task Force Argentina.
Opposition papers are scheduled to be filed in Second Circuit Court by January 25 and oral arguments are scheduled to begin February 27. An audio recording of the teleconference is available on the website www.atfa.org.
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