Vitro subsidiaries look to add new arguments to case dismissal request

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 9 - Vitro Asset Corp. is seeking court approval to add two new defenses to an answer detailing why the involuntary bankruptcy case filed against Vitro, SAB de CV's U.S. guarantor subsidiaries should be thrown out, according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

As previously reported, Knighthead Master Fund, LP, Brookville Horizons Fund, LP, Davidson Kempner Distressed Opportunities Fund LP and Lord Abbett Bond-Debenture Fund, Inc. filed an involuntary bankruptcy case against the Vitro subsidiaries in November.

Vitro Asset said the subsidiaries answered the involuntary petition on Dec. 9, claiming that the case should be dismissed because the petitioning creditors were not eligible to file the case because their claims are contingent as to liability and because their claims are subject to a bona fide dispute.

In addition, the subsidiaries argued in the original response that no order for relief can be entered against them because they are generally paying their debts as they come due and that the interests of creditors would better be served by a dismissal of the case.

Now, Vitro Asset and the other subsidiaries said they would like to add two new defenses to their answer, including a claim that the petitioning creditors are not eligible to file the case because they are not the actual holders of the claims on which the petition was based.

Specifically, Vitro Asset said the petitioning creditors allege that they are only the beneficial owners of the notes on which their claims are based, rather than the registered noteholders.

The debtors said the petitioning creditors did not get the required approval from the actual registered noteholder, the Depository Trust Co., to accelerate the notes or take any other action under the indenture.

The Vitro subsidiaries also said the case should be dismissed because the involuntary petition was not filed in good faith.

"As the alleged debtors have repeatedly asserted since the beginning of these involuntary cases, the involuntary petitions were plainly filed in an attempt to interfere with the restructuring efforts of the alleged debtors' Mexican parent company, Vitro, SAB de CV," the subsidiaries said in the motion.

According to the filing, Vitro is not an alleged debtor and does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Texas Northern bankruptcy court.

Vitro is a Nuevo Leon, Mexico-based glass manufacturer. An involuntary bankruptcy case was filed against its U.S. guarantor subsidiaries on Nov. 17. The Chapter 11 case number is 10-47470.

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