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.