UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO 

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 : 

In re: : 

 : 

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND : PROMESA 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO, : Title III 

 : 

as representative of : Case No. 17-BK-3283 (LTS) 

 : 

THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO et al., : (Jointly Administered) 

 : 

Debtors.1

 : 

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 : 

In re: : 

 : 

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND : PROMESA 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO, : Title III 

 : 

as representative of : Case No. 17-BK-4780 (LTS) 

 : 

PUERTO RICO ELECTRIC POWER AUTHORITY : 

 : 

Debtor. : 

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OFFICIAL COMMITTEE OF UNSECURED CREDITORS’ RESPONSE TO 

STATUS REPORT OF GOVERNMENT PARTIES REGARDING 

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND 9019 MOTION 

 

1

 The Debtors in these Title III Cases, along with each Debtor’s respective Title III case number and the last four 

(4) digits of each Debtor’s federal tax identification number, as applicable, are the (i) Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico (Bankruptcy Case No. 17-BK-3283- LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3481); (ii) Puerto Rico 

Sales Tax Financing Corporation (“COFINA”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17-BK-3284-LTS) (Last Four Digits of 

Federal Tax ID: 8474); (iii) Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (“HTA”) (Bankruptcy Case 

No. 17-BK-3567-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3808); (iv) Employees Retirement System of the 

Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“ERS”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 17-BK-3566-LTS) (Last 

Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 9686); (v) Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (“PREPA”) (Bankruptcy Case 

No. 17- BK-4780-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3747); and (vi) Puerto Rico Public Buildings 

Authority (“PBA”) (Bankruptcy Case No. 19-BK-5233-LTS) (Last Four Digits of Federal Tax ID: 3801) (Title 

III case numbers are listed as Bankruptcy Case numbers due to software limitations). 

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To the Honorable United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain: 

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (the “Committee”)2

 respectfully submits 

its response to the Status Report of the Government Parties Regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic 

and the 9019 Motion, dated January 19, 2022 [Docket No. 2691 in Case No. 17-4780] (the 

“Status Report”) concerning the motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9019 

[Docket No. 2144 in Case No. 17-4780] (the “Rule 9019 Motion”) that the Financial Oversight 

and Management Board for Puerto Rico (the “Oversight Board”) filed on May 10, 2019. In 

support of this Response, the Committee respectfully states as follows:

RESPONSE TO PREPA STATUS REPORT 

1. The Committee reiterates its opposition to the continued stay of the Rule 9019 

Motion for all of the reasons stated in the Committee’s responses to the Oversight Board’s 

previous status reports,3

 which are incorporated herein by reference. The Rule 9019 Motion has 

now been pending for approximately 32 months, and nothing in the Oversight Board’s most 

recent Status Report justifies its ongoing deprivation of the Committee’s statutory right to 

prosecute its objection to the PREPA Bondholders’ claims. 

2. At first glance, the Status Report implies that the Oversight Board has made 

progress in finally determining to “move forward” with the RSA. However, the Oversight Board 

also states—in the very same sentence—that it is continuing to evaluate the “feasibility and 

advisability of [the RSA’s] implementation,” Status Report ¶ 7, and later that one of the 

Oversight Board’s “next steps” will be to continue “assessing the RSA,” id. ¶ 10. Thus, it is 

 

2

 The Committee is the official committee of unsecured creditors for all Title III Debtors, other than PBA and 

COFINA. 

3

 See, e.g., Docket Nos. 2230, 2477, 2545, and 2628 in Case No. 17-4780. 

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clear that nothing has in fact changed: after all this time, the Oversight Board has still not 

decided whether it wants to seek approval of the RSA in its current form. 

3. Indeed, the Oversight Board does not mention setting a timeline for resolution of 

the Rule 9019 Motion—rather, it simply asks to submit another status report in March 2022, with 

no commitment to do anything between now and then. Just as before, the Oversight Board wants 

more time to figure out its path forward while it uses the stay of the Rule 9019 Motion to 

preclude the Committee from exercising its statutory rights. Moreover, based on the Status 

Report, it is not even clear whether the Oversight Board intends to prosecute the Rule 9019 

Motion at all, and, instead, intends to simply file a proposed plan of adjustment for PREPA at 

some point during the first half of 2022. Finally, the Committee submits that the Oversight 

Board’s filing of a status report is not the proper procedural vehicle to, in effect, request the 

continuation of the stay of the Rule 9019 Motion. 

4. For these reasons, the Committee asks that the Oversight Board’s request to 

further stay the Rule 9019 Motion pending the submission of a further status report on March 31, 

2022 be denied. 

 [Remainder of page intentionally left blank.] 

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WHEREFORE, the Committee respectfully requests that the relief the Oversight Board 

requests in the Status Report be denied. 

Dated: January 20, 2022 By: /s/ Luc A. Despins . 

PAUL HASTINGS LLP 

Luc A. Despins, Esq. (Pro Hac Vice) 

Nicholas A. Bassett, Esq. (Pro Hac Vice) 

G. Alexander Bongartz, Esq. (Pro Hac Vice) 

200 Park Avenue 

New York, New York 10166 

Telephone: (212) 318-6000 

lucdespins@paulhastings.com 

nicholasbassett@paulhastings.com 

alexbongartz@paulhastings.com 

Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured 

Creditors 

By: /s/ Juan J. Casillas Ayala . 

CASILLAS, SANTIAGO & TORRES LLC 

Juan J. Casillas Ayala, Esq. (USDC - PR 218312) 

Israel Fernández Rodríguez, Esq. (USDC - PR 225004) 

Juan C. Nieves González, Esq. (USDC - PR 231707) 

Cristina B. Fernández Niggemann, Esq. (USDC - PR 

306008) 

PO Box 195075 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919-5075 

Telephone: (787) 523-3434 Fax: (787) 523-3433 

jcasillas@cstlawpr.com 

ifernandez@cstlawpr.com 

jnieves@cstlawpr.com 

cfernandez@cstlawpr.com 

Local Counsel to the Official Committee of Unsecured 

Creditors

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