Washington Mutual noteholders ordered to disclose member information

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Dec. 3 - Washington Mutual, Inc.'s noteholders group has been ordered to disclose more information about its members at the request of JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA, according to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

According to the motion, the noteholders group has 23 members holding more than $1.1 billion in principal amount of notes.

Judge Mary F. Walrath said in Wednesday's ruling that the noteholders' group does not dispute that the disclosure of only the names of the participants and the total holdings is not enough to comply with Rule 2019 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Instead, the group argued that the rule was not applicable because it is not "an entity or committee representing more than one creditor," but rather "simply a loose affiliation of creditors who, in the interests of efficiency are sharing the cost of advisory services in connection with the case."

Walrath disagreed with the noteholders' assertion.

"Under the plain language of Rule 2019, therefore, the court finds that although the WMI noteholders group call themselves a group, they are in fact acting as an ad hoc committee or entity representing more than one creditor," Walmath said in her ruling.

Washington Mutual, a Seattle-based savings and loan holding company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sept. 26, 2008. Its Chapter 11 case number is 08-12229.

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