Three-Year Delay In Appointing Foreign Representative Not Fatal To Chapter 15 Recognition

In In re PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk, 601 B.R. 707 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2019), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York provided a primer on several important issues that a court may have to consider in ruling on a petition for recognition of a foreign bankruptcy proceeding under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code. These include the requirement that a foreign debtor have property in the United States before being eligible for chapter 15, the rules regarding the appointment of a "foreign representative" for the debtor, what qualifies as a "collective proceeding" for the purpose of chapter 15 recognition, and the "public policy" exception to recognition. The court ultimately denied a noteholder group's motion for summary judgment denying recognition of a debtor's Indonesian restructuring proceeding because of questions of fact regarding all of these issues.