Second Circuit Vacates $16.1 Billion Judgment In Long‑Running Litigation Against Argentina: Practical Takeaways For U.S. Sovereign Litigation And Enforcement Strategy

On March 27, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Petersen Energía Inversora S.A.U. v. Argentine Republic¹ reversed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”)’s $16.1-billion money judgment² – the largest-ever judgment against a sovereign in a U.S. court³ – arising from a decade-long U.S. litigation over Argentina’s 2012 renationalization of the Argentine oil and gas company, YPF S.A. (“YPF”). In the same decision, the Second Circuit vacated SDNY’s turnover order, which is an enforcement order that would have required Argentina to transfer its YPF shares to New York for delivery to the judgment creditors in partial satisfaction of the district court’s judgment.