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UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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In re:

FOR PUBLICATION

BEAR STEARNS HIGH-GRADE STRUCTURED
CREDIT STRATEGIES MASTER FUND, LTD.
(IN PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION)

Chapter 15
Case No. 07-12383 (BRL)

Debtor in a Foreign Proceeding.
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In re:
Chapter 15
BEAR STEARNS HIGH-GRADE STRUCTURED
CREDIT STRATEGIES ENHANCED LEVERAGE
MASTER FUND, LTD.
(IN PROVISIONAL LIQUIDATION)

Debtor in a Foreign Proceeding.
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APPEARANCES:
AKIN GUMP STRAUSS HAUER & FELD LLP
Counsel for the Joint Provisional Liquidators
590 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022-2524
(212) 872-1000
By: Fred S. Hodara, Esq.
Lisa G. Beckerman, Esq.
Abid Qureshi, Esq.
KAYE SCHOLER LLP
Attorneys for the Merrill Lynch Entities
425 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10022
By: Madlyn Gleich Primoff, Esq.
Jeffrey A. Fuisz, Esq.
David M. Eskew, Esq.
By: Burton R. Lifland
United States Bankruptcy Judge

1

Case No. 07-12384 (BRL)

DECISION AND ORDER DENYING
RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN PROCEEDING
Simon Lovell Clayton Whicker and Kristen Beighton, joint provisional liquidators
(the “JPLs” and the “Petitioners”) of Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies
Master Fund, Ltd. (In Provisional Liquidation) (“High-Grade Fund”) and Bear Stearns HighGrade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund, Ltd. (In Provisional
Liquidation) (“Enhanced Fund”and together with High-Grade Fund, the “Funds”), have filed
petitions pursuant to section 1515 of title 11 of the United States Code (the “Bankruptcy Code”)
for entry of orders recognizing the liquidation (the “Foreign Proceedings”) of the Funds in the
Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the “Cayman Grand Court”) as foreign main proceedings
pursuant to section 1517 of the Bankruptcy Code, and thereby granting related relief pursuant to
section 1520 of the Bankruptcy Code and granting additional relief pursuant to section 1521(a)
of the Bankruptcy Code. In the alternative, if this Court finds that the Foreign Proceedings are
not eligible for recognition as foreign main proceedings, Petitioners seek recognition of the
Foreign Proceedings as foreign nonmain proceedings, as defined in section 1502(5) and seek
relief under section 1521 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Background
The Funds are both Cayman Islands exempted limited liability companies with registered
offices in the Cayman Islands. The Funds are open-ended investment companies that invested in
(I) investment-grade structured finance securities; (ii) asset-backed securities (“ABSs”); (iii)
synthetic ABSs; (iv) mortgage-backed securities; (v) global structured asset securitizations; (vi)
derivatives; (vii) options; (viii) swaps; (ix) swaptions; (x) futures; (xi) forward contracts; (xii)
2

equity securities; and (xiii) currencies. See Verified Petitions for Recognition of Foreign Main
Proceeding Pursuant to Sections 1515 and 1517 of the Bankruptcy Code and Related Relief, of
High-Grade Fund and Enhanced Fund (“Verified Petitions”) at ¶ 2.
PFPC Inc. (Delaware), a Massachusetts corporation (the “Administrator”), is the
administrator of the Funds. Pursuant to administrative services agreements between each of the
Funds and the Administrator, the Administrator served as administrator, registrar and transfer
agent and provided day-to-day administrative services to the Funds, including accounting and
clerical functions, processing the issuance, transfer and redemption of shares, maintaining all
appropriate shareholder registers and ledgers, distributing annual reports and account statements
to shareholders, responding to inquiries received from shareholders, prospective investors, and
others, maintaining the Funds’ principal administrative records, disbursing payment of expenses
of the Funds, responding to inquiries from the general public, and notifying the Funds’
investment manager of redemption requests. The books and records of the Funds are maintained
and stored in Delaware by the Administrator, and Deloitte & Touche, Cayman Islands, signed off
on the most recent audited financial statements of the Funds. See Verified Petitions at ¶ 3.
Bear Stearns Asset Management Inc. (“BSAM”), a corporation formed under the laws of the
state of New York, is the investment manager for the Funds and the assets managed by BSAM
are located within the Southern District of New York. See Verified Petitions at ¶ 9. Other assets
of the Funds consist of receivables from broker dealers and all (or virtually all) are also located
within this judicial district.1 The investor registers, however, are held in Dublin, Ireland by an

1

Subsequent to the filing of the Foreign Proceedings, substantial funds were transferred
to accounts in the Cayman Islands.
3

affiliate of the Administrator. See Verified Petitions at 4, n. 1.
In early 2007, Enhanced Fund’s investments performed poorly. Following the wellpublicized volatility in the market related to United States sub-prime lending, by late May 2007
both Enhanced Fund and High-Grade Fund had begun to suffer a significant devaluation of their
asset portfolios. The devaluation of those secured assets led to margin calls from many of their
trade counterparts, which the Funds were ultimately unable to meet. This, in turn, resulted in the
issuance of default notices by those counterparties and their exercise of rights under their
respective agreements to seize and/or sell those assets of the Funds that had been the subject of
repurchase agreements or over which they held security interests.
On or about June 20, 2007, Merrill Lynch, a United States secured creditor, issued a bid
list to certain of its clients and thereafter sold off certain of these assets. This resulted in further
downward pressure on the relevant asset classes and a revaluation of the Funds’ assets.
On July 30, 2007, the boards of directors of both Enhanced Fund and High-Grade Fund
passed resolutions, authorizing each of the Funds to file petitions seeking orders that the Funds
be wound up under the provisions of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands and to apply for
the appointment of the Petitioners to act as JPLs of the Funds, subject to the supervision of the
Cayman Grand Court. On July 31, 2007, the Cayman Grand Court entered orders appointing the
Petitioners as the JPLs of the Funds.
Treating both petitions as factually similar if not identical, the Petitioners contend that
the Foreign Proceedings are “foreign main proceedings” as defined by section 1502(4) of the
Bankruptcy Code, because the Foreign Proceedings are pending in the Cayman Islands, which is
the “center of main interests” for the Funds as defined by sections 1502(4), 1516(c), 1517(b)(1)

4

of the Bankruptcy Code. The Petitioners contend because: (i) recognition of the Foreign
Proceedings would not be contrary to public policy under section 1506; (ii) the Foreign
Proceedings are foreign main proceedings under section 1502(4); (iii) the Petitioners are persons
authorized in the Foreign Proceedings to administer the liquidation of the Foreign Debtors’
assets in the Cayman Grand Court; and (iv) Petitioners have complied with all requirements of
section 1515 and Interim Bankruptcy Rule 1007(a)(4), Petitioners are entitled to entry of an
order recognizing the Foreign Proceedings as foreign main proceedings under section
1517(b)(1), and are entitled to the appropriate relief as set forth in sections 1520 and 1521 of the
Bankruptcy Code. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Merrill Lynch International and
Merrill Lynch Capital Services, Inc. (collectively, the “Merrill Lynch Entities”), have filed an
ambiguous statement requesting that no finding relating to the Funds’ center of main interest
would control any choice of law determination for actions brought by the JPLs in the United
States.2 No other party has filed a response or objection to the relief requested. However,
recognition under section 1517 is not to be rubber stamped by the courts. This Court must make
an independent determination as to whether the foreign proceeding meets the definitional
requirements of sections 1502 and 1517 of the Bankruptcy Code.
Discussion

2

This statement on its face can be construed as a partial objection as it arguably supports
that portion of the request for nonmain recognition relegating choice of law and substantive law
determinations away from Cayman Islands jurisprudence. The JPLs’ responsive offer (see Joint
Memorandum of Law in Support of Recognition of Foreign Proceedings as Foreign Main
Proceedings) to accommodate the Merrill Lynch Entities’ concerns by including the requested
language in an order recognizing the proceeding as a main proceeding injects little or no clarity
regarding choice of law issues as it presumptively presupposes this Court finding a “main
proceeding” and that the JPLs in their discretion would pursue U.S. actions.
5

Chapter 15 Petition for Recognition
Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 2005 as part of the Bankruptcy Abuse
Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Pub.L. No. 109-8, 119 Stat. 23 and
implemented the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (the “Model Law”) promulgated by
the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”); H.R. REP. NO.
109-31, at 105-07 (2005), U.S. Code Cong. & Admin. News 2005, p. 88; In re Tri-Continental
Exchange Ltd., 349 B.R. 627, 631-32 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2006).
Unique to the Bankruptcy Code, Chapter 15 contains a statement of purpose: “[t]he
purpose of this chapter is to incorporate the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency so as to
provide effective mechanisms for dealing with cases of cross-border insolvency,” with the
express objectives of cooperation between United States courts, trustees, examiners, debtors and
debtors in possession and the courts and other competent authorities of foreign countries; greater
legal certainty for trade and investment; fair and efficient administration of cross-border
insolvencies that protects the interests of all creditors and other interested entities, including the
debtor; the protection and maximization of the debtor's assets; and the facilitation of the rescue
of financially troubled businesses. 11 U.S.C. § 1501(a)(1)-(5); In re SPhinX, Ltd. 351 B.R. 103,
112 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2006), aff’d, 2007 WL 1965597 (S.D.N.Y. July 3, 2007).
Chapter 15 accords the court substantial discretion and flexibility. However, the process
of recognition of a foreign proceeding is a simple single step process incorporating the
definitions in sections 1502 and 101(23) and (24) to determine recognition as either a main or
nonmain proceeding or nonrecognition. See Jay Lawrence Westbrook, Locating the Eye of the
Financial Storm, 32 BROOK. J. INT’L L. 3, 6 (2007 publication pending) (hereinafter “Westbrook

6

Article”) (“The Model Law grants great discretion as to specific relief, but imposes a fairly rigid
procedural structure for recognition of foreign proceedings.”); Daniel M. Glosband, SPhinX
Chapter 15 Opinion Misses the Mark, 25 AM. BANKR. INST. J. 44, 45 (Dec./Jan. 2007)
(hereinafter “Glosband Article”) (“foreign proceedings are eligible for recognition only if they
meet the definitional requirements of either a foreign main proceeding or a nonmain
proceeding”);3 contra In re SPhinX, Ltd., 351 B.R. 103 (discussed below). The determination is
a formulaic one. A simple recognition of a foreign proceeding without specifying more (i.e.,
non- declaration as to either “main or nonmain”) is insufficient as there are substantial eligibility
distinctions and consequences. In other words, the recognition must be coded as either main or
nonmain. See H.R. REP. NO. 109-31, p. 114 (“A petition under section 1515 must show that a
proceeding is main or a qualifying non-main proceeding in order to obtain recognition under this
section.”); Glosband Article at 85 (“If the foreign proceeding is not pending in a country where
the debtor has its [center of main interests] or where it has an establishment, then the foreign
proceeding is simply not eligible for recognition under chapter 15.”).4
A case under chapter 15 is commenced by a foreign representative filing a petition for

3

Both authors, Mr. Glosband and Professor Westbrook, along with myself, were among
the authors of the Model Law and Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code.
4

But see In re Schefenacker plc, Case No. 07-11482, Order, Pursuant to §§ 105(a), 1507,
1517 and 1521, Recognizing Company Voluntary Arrangement as Either Foreign Main
Proceeding or Foreign Nonmain Proceeding, Enforcing Company Voluntary Arrangement in the
United States, and Granting Other Appropriate Relief, dated June 14, 2007, ECF 81,
www.nysb.uscourts.gov. Court granted recognition without distinguishing between main and
nonmain proceeding because the foreign proceeding clearly qualified as one or the other and the
relief sought - recognition of the injunction contained in the company voluntary arrangement
approved by the U.K. Court - would be granted in either a foreign main proceeding or a foreign
nonmain proceeding. See Transcript of Hearing dated June 14, 2007 at 32, ECF # 90.
7

recognition of a foreign proceeding under section 1515 of the Bankruptcy Code. See 11 U.S.C. §
1504. The petition for recognition must be accompanied by evidentiary documents which are
presumed to be authentic in the absence of evidence to the contrary. See 11 U.S.C. § 1515(b).
Here, as demonstrated by the Petition and the accompanying Declarations, the Petitioners
are duly authorized foreign representatives of the Funds entitled to petition this Court for
recognition of the Foreign Proceedings under section 1509.
A foreign representative may obtain recognition of a foreign proceeding as either a
foreign main or nonmain proceeding. 11 U.S.C. § 1517(a)(1). Here, the Petitioners seek
recognition as a main proceeding or alternatively, as a nonmain proceeding.
Main Recognition
A foreign main proceeding is defined as a “foreign proceeding pending in the country
where the debtor has the center of its main interests” (which is referred to as the “COMI”). 11
U.S.C. § 1502(4); In re Petition of Lloyd, 2005 WL 3764946, *2 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2005) (Order
granting recognition of foreign main proceeding). A foreign nonmain proceeding means any
other proceeding “pending in a country where the debtor has an establishment.” 11 U.S.C. §
1502(5). “Establishment” is defined as “any place of operations where the debtor carries out a
nontransitory economic activity.” 11 U.S.C. § 1502(2).
Section 1516(c) provides that “[i]n the absence of evidence to the contrary, the debtor's
registered office, . . . is presumed to be the center of the debtor's main interests.” 11 U.S.C. §
1516(c); In re Tri-Continental Exchange Ltd., 349 B.R. 627, 635 (Bankr. E.D. Cal. 2006) “(In
effect, the registered office (or place of incorporation) is evidence that is probative of, and that
may in the absence of other evidence be accepted as a proxy for, ‘center of main interests.’ The

8

registered office, however, does not otherwise have special evidentiary value and does not shift
the risk of nonpersuasion, i.e., the burden of proof, away from the foreign representative seeking
recognition as a main proceeding.”).
The legislative history to section 1516(c) further explains that “the presumption that the
place of the registered office is also the center of the debtor’s main interest is included for speed
and convenience of proof where there is no serious controversy.” See H.R. REP. NO. 31, 109th
Cong., 1st Sess 1516 (2005). This presumption “permits and encourages fast action in cases
where speed may be essential, while leaving the debtor’s true ‘center’ open to dispute in cases
where the facts are more doubtful.” See Westbrook Article at 15. This presumption is not a
preferred alternative where there is a separation between a corporation’s jurisdiction of
incorporation and its real seat. Id.
Chapter 15 changed the Model Law standard that established the presumption in “the
absence of proof to the contrary,” to a presumption in “the absence of evidence to the contrary.”
The legislative history explains that the word “proof” was changed to “evidence” to make it
clearer using United States terminology that the ultimate burden is on the foreign representative.5
See H.R. REP. NO. 109-31, 112-13 (2005). According to one commentator, “[w]hatever may be
the proper interpretation of the EU Regulation, the Model Law and Chapter 15 give limited
weight to the presumption of jurisdiction of incorporation as the COMI.” See Westbrook Article
at 15-16. Accordingly, “[i]f the foreign proceeding is in the country of the registered office, and

5

For a detailed analysis of the differences between the Model Law and Chapter 15 see
Burton R. Lifland, Chapter 15 of the United States Bankruptcy Code: An Annotated Section-BySection Analysis, in Cross-border insolvency and conflict of jurisdictions, A US-EU experience,
(George Affaki ed., Bruylant & FEC 2007)
9

if there is evidence that the center of main interests might be elsewhere, then the foreign
representative must prove that the center of main interest is in the same country as the registered
office.” See In re Tri-Continental Exchange Ltd., 349 B.R. at 635; see also In re Petition of
Lloyd, Case No. 05-60100 (BRL), Verified Petition under Chapter 15 for Recognition of a
Foreign Proceeding, ¶9 ECF # 2, www.nysb.uscourts.gov (Debtor was mutual insurance
company registered in France but demonstrated that center of main interest was located in the
United Kingdom (“UK”)).6
The Bankruptcy Code does not state the type of evidence required to rebut the
presumption that the COMI is the debtor's place of registration or incorporation. Various factors
could be relevant to such a determination, including: the location of the debtor's headquarters;
the location of those who actually manage the debtor (which, conceivably could be the
headquarters of a holding company); the location of the debtor's primary assets; the location of
the majority of the debtor's creditors or of a majority of the creditors who would be affected by
the case; and/or the jurisdiction whose law would apply to most disputes. In re SPhinX, Ltd.,
351 B.R. at 117. Here the factors to inform the Court’s determination come from the Petitioners
own submissions.

Chapter 15 also directs courts to obtain guidance from the application of

similar statutes by foreign jurisdictions: “[i]n interpreting this chapter, the court shall consider its
international origin, and the need to promote an application of this chapter that is consistent with
the application of similar statutes adopted by foreign jurisdictions.” 11 U.S.C. § 1508; In re

6

In Lloyd, the petitioners, foreign representatives of a UK scheme of arrangement,
provided evidence sufficient to establish that the main insurance business was primarily
conducted in the UK thus rebutting the presumption of COMI in France, the place of
registration.
10

SPhinX, Ltd., 351 B.R. at 118.
One of the sources that a United States court may look to as persuasive is the Guide to
Enactment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (“Guide”) that was
promulgated in connection with the approval of the Model Law. See Guide to Enactment of the
UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, U.N. Gen. Ass., UNCITRAL 30th Sess.,
U.N. Doc. A/CN.9/442 (1997); see RSM Richter v. Aguilar (In re Ephedra Products Liability
Litigation), 349 B.R. 333, 336 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (Rakoff, D.J.) (“the House Judiciary Committee,
in enacting Chapter 15, specifically indicated that the Guide ‘should be consulted for guidance as
to the meaning and purpose of [Chapter 15's] provisions.’” quoting H.R. REP. NO. 109-31(I), at
106 n. 101, as reprinted in 2005 U.S.C.C.A.N. 169 n. 101.”). The Guide explains that the use of
the concept “where the debtor has the centre of its main interests” as the determinant that a
foreign proceeding is a “main” proceeding was modeled on the use of that concept in the
European Union Convention on Insolvency Proceedings (“EU Convention”) that was already in
the process of being adopted when UNCITRAL drafted the Model Law.
In the regulation adopting the EU Convention, the COMI concept is elaborated upon as
“the place where the debtor conducts the administration of his interests on a regular basis and is
therefore ascertainable by third parties.” Council Reg. (EC) No. 1346/2000, ¶ 13; see also Case
341/04, Bondi v. Bank of America, N.A. (In re Eurofood IFSC Ltd.), 2006 E.C.R. I-3813, p. I8I9, ¶32, 2006 WL 1142304 (E.C.J. May 2, 2006). This generally equates with the concept of a
“principal place of business” in United States law. See In re Tri-Continental Exchange Ltd., 349
B.R. at 633-34.
As noted by the European Court of Justice, the COMI presumption may be overcome

11

“particular[ly] in the case of a ‘letterbox’ company not carrying out any business in the territory
of the Member State in which its registered office is situated.” See In re Eurofood IFSC Ltd.,
supra at ¶35; see also In re SPhinX, Ltd., 2007 WL 1965597 (S.D.N.Y. July 3, 2007). In
addition, the Guide explains that the presumption does “not prevent, in accordance with
applicable procedural law, calling for or assessing other evidence if the conclusion suggested by
the presumption is called into question by the court or an interested party.” See Guide ¶ 122.
The Petitioners basically argue that because no objections have been filed and the Funds’
registered offices are in the Cayman Islands, this Court should recognize the Foreign
Proceedings as main proceedings. In other words, the Petitioners contend that this Court should
accept the proposition that the Foreign Proceedings are main proceedings because the Petitioners
say so and because no else says they aren’t.7 This contention must be rejected.
The Petitioners’ own pleadings provide the evidence to establish that the Funds’ COMI is
in the United States, not the Cayman Islands. The only adhesive connection with the Cayman
Islands that the Funds have is the fact that they are registered there.8 Section 1516(c) presumes
that the COMI is the place of the debtor's registered office but only "[i]n the absence of evidence
to the contrary.” See 11 U.S.C. § 1516(c). The Verified Petitions have demonstrated such
evidence to the contrary: there are no employees or managers in the Cayman Islands,9 the
7

There may be many reasons for the lack of objections including the fact that many
members of the financial communities have their own similar relationships with offshore
jurisdictions.
8

The only business done in the Cayman Islands apparently was limited to those steps
necessary to maintain the Funds in good standing as registered Cayman Islands companies, thus
the Funds closely approximate the “letterbox” companies referred to in the Eurofoods decision.
9

Although two of the directors of the Funds reside in the Cayman Islands. See Transcript
of hearing on Order to Show Cause for Preliminary Injunction, August 9, 2007, (“August 9
12

investment manager for the Funds is located in New York, the Administrator that runs the backoffice operations of the Funds is in the United States along with the Funds’ books and records
and prior to the commencement of the Foreign Proceeding, all of the Funds’ liquid assets were
located in United States.10 Although two of the three investors in the High-Grade Fund are also
registered Cayman Islands companies, Mr. Whicker, one of the JPLs, testified that both are Bear
Stearns entities which appear to have the same minimum Cayman Islands profile as do the
Funds. The sole investor in the Enhanced Fund is a U.K. entity. See Transcript of Hearing dated
August 27, 2007 at 23. The investor registries are maintained and located in the Republic of
Ireland; accounts receivables are located throughout Europe and the United States;
counterparties to master repurchase and swap agreements are based both inside and outside the
United States but none are claimed to be in the Cayman Islands. Moreover, there apparently
exists the possibility that prepetition transactions conducted in the United States may be
avoidable under U.S. law. Accordingly, the presumption that the COMI is the place of the
Funds’ registered offices has been rebutted by evidence to the contrary. As noted, each of the
Funds’ real seat and therefore their COMI is the United States, the place where the Funds
conduct the administration of their interests on a regular basis and is therefore ascertainable by
third parties, (see Council Reg. (EC) No. 1346/2000, ¶ 13; see also In re Eurofood IFSC Ltd.,
supra, at ¶32) and, more specifically, is located in this district where principal interests, assets
and management are located. See Verified Petitions at ¶¶ 1, 3, 9. Thus, I cannot grant

Transcript”) p13.
10

The Petitioners’ have represented that there now exists bank accounts in the Cayman
Islands to which the funds maintained in the United States were transferred subsequent to the
filing of the Foreign Proceedings. See August 9 Transcript, p 22
13

recognition of the Foreign Proceedings as main proceedings.
In so holding, I part with the dicta in the SPhinX decision opining that if the parties in
interest had not objected to the Cayman Islands proceeding being recognized as main,
recognition would have been granted under the sole grounds that no party objected and no other
proceeding had been initiated anywhere else.11 See In re SPhinX, Ltd., 351 B.R. at 117. To the
extent that non objection would make the recognition process a rubber stamp exercise, this Court
disagrees with the dicta in the SPhinX decision. See Westbrook Article at 7. See also Staton v.
Boeing Co., 327 F.3d 938, 970 (9th Cir. 2003) (“Rubber-stamp approval, even in the absence of
objections, is improper.”).
The two other Cayman Islands chapter 15 cases cited by the Petitioners that have been
granted recognition by this Court as main proceedings are inapposite. In addition to having
registered offices in the Cayman Islands, the debtors conducted business there, thus also meeting
the “establishment” requirement. See Bancredit Cayman Limited (In Liquidation), Case No.
06-11026, Chapter 15 Petition for Recognition of Foreign Proceeding as Foreign Main
Proceeding, ECF #1, www.nysb.uscourts.gov (Debtor was a foreign bank incorporated in 1988
in the Cayman Islands, where it managed deposits, accounts, loans, and provided other credit
services primarily for clients located in the Dominican Republic.); Amerindo Internet Growth
Fund Limited, Case No., 07-10327, Verified Petition for Recognition of Foreign Main
Proceeding Pursuant to Sections 1515 and 1517 of the Bankruptcy Code and Related Relief, ECF
# 2, www.nysb.uscourts.gov (Debtor was an investment company registered in the Cayman

11

The court refused “main” status largely on the ground of the bad faith motives of those
who brought the Cayman Island proceedings.
14

Islands which commenced business with a Cayman Islands investment manager and a Cayman
Islands administrator, who maintained the books and records in the Cayman Islands and
managed the Debtor’s day-to-day business in the Cayman Islands).
The Nonmain Recognition Alternative
If recognition is to be accorded to the Foreign Proceeding as nonmain, the eligibility
requirements of section 1502(5) must be met. Specifically, there must be an “establishment” in
the Cayman Islands for the conduct of nontransitory economic activity, i.e., a local place of
business.12 See 11 U.S.C. § 1502(5)(emphasis added). Here the bar is rather high, especially in
view of the Cayman Islands’ statutory prohibition against “exempted companies” engaging in
business in the Cayman Islands except in furtherance of their business otherwise carried on
outside of the Cayman Islands. See Companies Law (2004 Revision) of the Cayman Islands §
193.13 As has been shown above, there is no (pertinent) nontransitory economic activity
conducted locally in the Cayman Islands by the Funds; only those activities necessary to their
offshore “business.” See id. Additionally, the only cash account funds on deposit (over $15
million) migrated there after the Cayman Islands proceedings were initiated. Clearly, even if I

12

This definition of establishment arose from the rejection, in relation to the EC
Regulation, of the presence of assets as a sufficient basis for taking local jurisdiction. See
Glosband Article at 45.
13

As Mr. Whicker testified, the Funds are subject to the prohibitions of section 193, set
forth at length:
An exempted company shall not trade in the Islands with any person, firm or corporation
except in furtherance of the business of the exempted company carried on outside the
Islands:
Provided that nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prevent the exempted
company effecting and concluding contracts in the Islands and exercising in the Islands
all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside of the Islands.
Companies Law (2004 Revision) of the Cayman Islands § 193 (emphasis added).
15

were to strain to find sufficient factors to satisfy the “nonmain” eligibility status pursuant to
section 1502(5), the effort does not yield a finding of a seat for local business activity (proxy for
establishment).
I recognize that portions of this holding are at odds with the decisions in SPhinX, both the
bankruptcy court’s decision and the district court’s affirmance. However, neither of those courts
addressed the “establishment” requirement. Instead, the district court explained that the
bankruptcy court’s recognition of the foreign proceeding as a nonmain proceeding was a
“pragmatic one” as no other proceedings were pending and someone had to conduct the
“winding up.” See In re SPhinX, 2007 WL 1965597, *7 (“Collectively, these improper purposes
and rebuttal analyses, combined with pragmatic considerations, led the Bankruptcy Court to
conclude ‘where so many objective factors point to the Cayman Islands not being the Debtors’
COMI, and no negative consequences would appear to result from recognizing the Cayman
Islands proceedings as nonmain proceedings, that is the better choice.” quoting In re SPhinX,
351 B.R. at 122.)
The Petitioners’ reliance on the discretionary and flexibility attributes of caselaw under
former section 304 of the Bankruptcy Code is misplaced. While much of the jurisprudence
developed under section 304 is preserved in the context of new section 1507, section 304 did not
have a recognition requirement as a first step. Moreover, the eligibility requirements of section
109 of the Bankruptcy Code (entitled “Who may be a debtor”), did not apply to section 304 but
are very specific as to who qualifies for relief under each of the other chapters of the Bankruptcy

16

Code.14 Section 304 simply gave the United States courts the authority to open an ancillary
proceeding and grant various broad forms of relief to the foreign representative. See In re
Culmer, 25 B.R. 621, 624 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 1982). Chapter 15, on the other hand, imposes a
rigid procedural structure for recognition of foreign proceedings as either main or nonmain and
thus the jurisprudence developed under section 304 is of no assistance in determining the issues
relating to the presumption for recognition under chapter 15.
Conclusion
Accordingly, because the Foreign Proceedings are not pending in a country where the
Funds have their COMI or where they have an establishment, the Foreign Proceedings are not
eligible for relief as main or nonmain proceedings under chapter 15.
Nonrecognition of the Foreign Proceedings, however, does not leave the Petitioners
without the ability to obtain relief from US courts. 11 U.S.C. § § 303(b)(4) and 1509(f); see also
Jennifer D. Morton, Note, Recognition of Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings: an Evaluation
of Solvent Schemes of Arrangement and Part VII Transfers under U.S. Chapter 15, 29
FORDHAM INT'L L.J. 1312, 1363 (2006). While section 304 of the Bankruptcy Code was
repealed upon the enactment of chapter 15, section 303 was not repealed. Section 303(b)(4) of
the Bankruptcy Code specifically provides that an involuntary case may be commenced under
chapter 7 or 11 of the Bankruptcy Code by a foreign representative of the estate in a foreign
proceeding so that a foreign representative is not left remediless upon nonrecognition. 11 U.S.C.
§ 303(b)(4); contra U.S.A. v. J.A. Jones Construction Group, LLC, 333 B.R. 637 (E.D.N.Y.

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For example, section 109(f) provides that only a family farmer or a family fisherman
with regular annual income may be a debtor under chapter 12 of this title. 11 U.S.C. § 109(f).
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2005) (Magistrate Judge Go opined that in the absence of recognition under chapter 15, a federal
court has no authority to grant a stay of litigation against a foreign debtor). Section 303(b)(4)
does not require that the foreign proceeding be recognized.15 This flexibility leaves open the
potential coordination of a case filed here under Title 11 with the Foreign Proceeding. See 11
U.S.C. § 1529 (implicating cooperation and coordination among proceedings under sections
1525, 1526 and 1527 of the Bankruptcy Code, i.e., section 1527(5), concurrent proceedings
involving the same debtor).
In addition, section 1509(f) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that the failure of a foreign
representative to obtain recognition under this chapter does not affect any right the foreign
representative may have to sue in a court in the United States to collect or recover a claim which
is the property of the debtor. 11 U.S.C. § 1509(f).
Accordingly, the request for recognition as a foreign main proceeding or alternatively, as
a foreign nonmain proceeding is denied without prejudice to the filing of a Title 11 case (see
below).
In view of the foregoing holding, the preliminary injunction order of August 9, 2007,

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Section 101(23) of the Bankruptcy Code simply provides that
The term “foreign proceeding” means a collective judicial or administrative proceeding
in a foreign country, including an interim proceeding, under a law relating to insolvency
or adjustment of debt in which proceeding the assets and affairs of the debtor are subject
to control or supervision by a foreign court, for the purpose of reorganization or
liquidation.
Section 101(24) provides that
The term “foreign representative” means a person or body, including a person or body
appointed on an interim basis, authorized in a foreign proceeding to administer the
reorganization or the liquidation of the debtor’s assets or affairs or to act as a
representative of such foreign proceeding.
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issued pursuant to section 1519 of the Bankruptcy Code shall remain in effect for a period of 30
days from the date of this decision and order so as to give parties in interest an opportunity to file
a petition for relief under chapters 7 or 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the district where the seat
of the Funds’ management functions are located. In the event that there are no such filings, the
injunction order of August 9, 2007 shall automatically dissolve upon expiration of the 30 day
period.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: New York, New York
August 30, 2007
/s/ Burton R. Lifland
United States Bankruptcy Judge

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