In two recent decisions, the Companies Court has
rejected attempts by creditors of Lehman Brothers to expedite
certain aspects of the administration process.
Background
On 10 September 2008, Lehman Brothers announced that it had lost
$3.9bn (£2.21bn) in the third quarter of 2008, mainly due to
a write down of $5.6bn in relation to the bank's commercial and
residential property investments. The bank, then widely rumoured in
the financial press to be the next victim of the credit crunch,
stepped up its efforts in finding a buyer. However, rescue talks
with Barclays and Bank of America broke down over the following
weekend and, on 15 September 2008, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
("LBHI"), the New York based parent company of the Lehman
Brothers group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the
US. That same day, Lehman Brothers International (Europe)
("LBIE"), an unlimited company incorporated in England
and Wales, an indirect subsidiary of LBHI (and which was
