Legal Proceedings
Motors Liquidation Company
On or about June of 2015, the Guggenheim High Yield Fund was served and became a party to the case entitled Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Motors Liquidation Company v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al., Adversary Proceeding No. 09-00504 (MG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.), brought by the Motors Liquidation Avoidance Action Trust (the “Motors Trust”). The lawsuit was initially filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on July 31, 2009 by the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of Motors Liquidation Company (f/k/a General Motors) against the former holders of an approximately $1.5 billion term loan issued pursuant to a term loan agreement, dated as of November 29, 2006 (the “Term Loan”), between General Motors, as borrower, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as administrative agent (“JPMorgan”), and various institutions as lenders, including the Guggenheim High Yield Fund (f/k/a Security Income Fund – High Yield Series). The Term Loan lenders received a full repayment of the Term Loan pursuant to a June 1, 2009 court order issued in connection with the General Motors chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The plaintiff was seeking a court order that the lenders return at least a portion of the proceeds received in 2009 based on the contention that certain UCC financing statements securing the indebtedness due under the Term Loan were terminated (thus releasing collateral secured by the UCC financing statement), rendering the Term Loan under-secured or completely unsecured. As a result, the lawsuit alleges that the Term Loan lenders were at least partially unsecured creditors at the time General Motors filed for bankruptcy, and should not have been paid as fully secured creditors.
After being served, the Guggenheim High Yield Fund filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on November 19, 2015. On June 30, 2016, the Bankruptcy Court denied the motion to dismiss, holding that the orders extending the time to serve defendants were valid. On July 14, 2016, the Guggenheim High Yield Fund filed a motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal of the Bankruptcy Court’s decision, which was denied on March 8, 2017.
On December 18, 2015, the Guggenheim High Yield Fund filed cross-claims against co-defendant JPMorgan related to JPMorgan’s actions as administrative agent in connection with the Term Loan and the termination of the UCC financing statements.
On November 10, 2016, the Motors Trust filed a stipulation and proposed order dismissing its third claim for relief as set forth in its amended complaint, which was so Ordered on November 17, 2016.
On April 24, 2017, a trial commenced in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on the collateral status and valuation of 40 representative assets (the “Representative Asset Trial”). The evidentiary potion of the trial concluded on May 5, 2017, and closing arguments were held on June 5, 2017.
On September 26, 2017, the Bankruptcy Court issued its decision. The Court held that 33 of the 40 assets at issue (the “Representative Assets”) were fixtures and that the majority of the Representative Assets should be valued on a going concern basis. The Avoidance Trust sought leave to appeal portions of the decision on October 10, 2017. The motion for leave to appeal was denied on September 7, 2018.
The parties agreed to attend mediation in front of David Geronemus, Esq in an attempt to consensually resolve the dispute. On February 1, 2019, the parties informed the Bankruptcy Court that they reached an agreement on terms to resolve the lawsuit. On May 10, 2019, the settlement agreement was signed by all the parties necessary to commence the Bankruptcy Court approval process. On May 13, 2019, the Avoidance Trust filed a settlement approval motion with the Bankruptcy Court. On June 12, 2019, the Bankruptcy Court held a hearing on the settlement approval motion. The Bankruptcy Court entered an order approving the settlement agreement the following day, June 13, 2019.
This lawsuit does not allege any wrongdoing on the part of the Guggenheim High Yield Fund. Per the terms of the settlement agreement, the Avoidance Trust’s lawsuit is dismissed and the Term Loan Lender parties, including Guggenheim High Yield Fund, will be reimbursed for a portion of their legal fees incurred in defending the litigation.