230110 ORD RE 345TH OMNI OBJ VERSION JANUARY 10, 2023 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

In re:

THE FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT AND 

MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR PUERTO RICO,

as representative of

THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, et 

al.,

Debtors.1

PROMESA

Title III

No. 17 BK 3283-LTS

(Jointly Administered)

ORDER GRANTING THE THREE HUNDRED FORTY-FIFTH OMNIBUS OBJECTION (SUBSTANTIVE) OF 

THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, THE PUERTO RICO HIGHWAYS AND 

TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, AND THE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE 

GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO TO MISCLASSIFIED CLAIMS

Upon the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection (Substantive) of the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, and the 

Employees Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to 

Misclassified Claims (Docket Entry No. 17108) (the “Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus 

Objection”), filed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”), the Puerto Rico 

 

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 (“Commonwealth”) (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-5523-

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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230110 ORD RE 345TH OMNI OBJ VERSION JANUARY 10, 2023 2

Highways and Transportation Authority (“HTA”), and the Employees Retirement System of the 

Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“ERS,” and together with the Commonwealth 

and HTA, the “Debtors”), dated June 18, 2021, for entry of an order reclassifying certain claims 

filed against the Debtors, as more fully set forth in the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus 

Objection and supporting exhibits thereto; and the Court having jurisdiction to consider the Three 

Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection and to grant the relief requested therein pursuant to 

PROMESA Section 306(a); and venue being proper pursuant to PROMESA Section 307(a); and 

due and proper notice of the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection having been provided 

to those parties identified therein, and no other or further notice being required; and upon the 

Notice of Presentment of Proposed Order Granting the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus 

Objection (Substantive) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Highways and 

Transportation Authority, and the Employees Retirement System of the Government of the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to Misclassified Claims, dated August 29, 2022 (Docket Entry No. 

21941, the “Notice”), for entry of an order reclassifying the Claims to Be Heard (as defined below) 

and the Claims to Be Reclassified via Notice of Presentment2

, as more fully set forth in the Notice; 

and upon the record of the hearing held on the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection on 

August 4, 2021, and the rulings made therein, sustaining the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus 

Objection as to Proofs of Claim Nos. 34338, 167999, 1845, 136186, 39906, 27602, 45321, 12337, 

36519, 29885, 10442, 35710, 129809, 90365, 12312, 12345, 2252, 28152, 4821, 2414, 145627, 

and 41069 (the “Claims Heard at August 2021 Omnibus Hearing”) on the grounds that the claims 

fail to assert a valid basis for administrative expense priority; and upon the record of the hearing 

 2 Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings given to them 

in the Notice. 

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230110 ORD RE 345TH OMNI OBJ VERSION JANUARY 10, 2023 3

held on the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection on January 19-20, 2022, February 2, 

2022, and March 23, 2022, and the rulings made therein, sustaining the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth

Omnibus Objection as to Proofs of Claim Nos. 3398,3 6725, 9778, 12312, 12337, 15520, 20600, 

23016, 24315, 25360, 54541, 106293, 121773,122933, 129809, and 139753 (the “Claims to Be 

Heard”) on the grounds that the claims fail to assert a valid basis for administrative expense 

priority; and upon the parties’ agreement, as explained to the Court during the March 23, 2022 

Omnibus Hearing, that (1) Proofs of Claim Nos. 12337, 12312, 129809, 121773, 24315, and 20600 

“may be reclassified as general unsecured claims pursuant to the Court’s previous order sustaining 

 3 The Court has received and reviewed the pleading (Docket Entry No. 22334 in Case No. 

17-3283) (the “Muniz Ruberte Motion”) filed by claimant Ruben Muniz Ruberte, 

appearing pro se, requesting that the Court grant him time to “satisfy the Honorable 

Court’s order to provide the prima facie evidence to support a secure[d] claim” because 

Mr. Muniz Ruberte’s prior transmission of such documentation allegedly was not 

received by the Court. (Muniz Ruberte Mot. ¶ 7.)

The Court has already reviewed Mr. Muniz Ruberte’s response to the Three Hundred 

Forty Fifth Omnibus Objection and heard Mr. Muniz Ruberte’s presentation of the basis 

for his opposition to the Three Hundred Forty Fifth Omnibus Objection at the February 2, 

2022, omnibus hearing. (See Feb. 2, 2022, Hr’g Tr. at 7:15-14:12.) After hearing 

argument at that hearing and prompting Mr. Muniz Ruberte to explain the basis for his 

assertion that his claim is secured, the Court determined that Mr. Muniz Ruberte’s claim 

would be reclassified because he had not identified any legal or factual basis establishing

that the claim should be treated as secured. (Id. at 12:2-15; 13:18-25.) The Court also 

informed Mr. Muniz Ruberte that, to the extent he wished to supplement his claim with 

additional documentation concerning its validity (as opposed to the priority of the claim, 

which was the sole issue presented to the Court by the Three Hundred Forty Fifth 

Omnibus Objection), he could do so. On February 25, 2022, Mr. Muniz Ruberte filed 

more than 150 pages of documents apparently related to his claim. (See Docket Entry 

No. 20218 in Case No. 17-3283.) Although the documents were in Spanish, the Englishlanguage pleading submitted with the documents did not assert or explain any way in 

which the documentation was relevant to Mr. Muniz Ruberte’s assertion that his claim is 

secured. Accordingly, the Court ordered the Oversight Board to take notice of Mr. 

Muniz Ruberte’s supplemental submission. (See Docket Entry No. 20232 in Case No. 

17-3283.) The Muniz Ruberte Motion similarly does not provide any legal or factual 

basis for reconsideration of the Court’s ruling concerning the reclassification of Mr.

Muniz Ruberte’s claim, and the Muniz Ruberte Motion is therefore denied.

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the 345th Omnibus Objection” March 23, 2022 Hr’g. Tr. at 21:21-22:6; (2) “the Court’s ruling on 

[the Motion for the Reconsideration of the Order Entered on August 4, 2021, at the Omnibus 

Hearing Concerning the “Three Hundred Forty Fifth Omnibus Objection” [Docket Entry No.

17892 (the “Reconsideration Motion”)]] may affect the classification of these claims”4 id. at 22:7-

10, (3) “to the extent any of these claims assert liabilities arising from judgments in the Nilda 

Agosta, Juan Perez-Colon, Jeanette Abrams, or Tomassini litigations, the parties recognize that 

Ms. Gonzalez’s motions for treatment of liabilities associated with those judgments as 

administrative expenses remain pending, and the Court’s ruling on those motions may affect the 

classification of those claims” id. at 22:11-17, (4) Ms. Gonzalez does not represent the claimant 

associated with Proof of Claim No. 139753,5 id. at 22:19-22:7, and (5) Proof of Claim No. 20773 

“may also be reclassified as a general unsecured claim pursuant to the Court’s previous orders, but 

recognizing that Ms. Gonzalez’s motions for reconsideration of the 345th Omnibus Objection 

Order and her motions seeking admin expense treatment of certain judgments may affect the 

classification of that claim” id. at 24:7-16; and the Court having determined that the relief sought 

in the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection is in the best interests of the Debtors, their 

creditors, and all parties in interest; and the Court having determined that the legal and factual 

bases set forth in the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection establish just cause for the 

 4 On April 18, 2022, the Court denied the Reconsideration Motion. See Order Denying 

Motion for the Reconsideration of the Order Entered on August 4, 2021, at the Omnibus 

Hearing Concerning the “Three Hundred Forty Fifth Omnibus Objection” (Docket Entry

No. 20569).

5 Accordingly, the Court sustained the Three Hundred Forty Fifth Omnibus Objection as to 

Proof of Claim No. 139753 on the basis of the materials submitted in connection with the 

January Claim Objection Hearing. See March 23, 2022 Hr’g. T.R. at 23:8-23.

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230110 ORD RE 345TH OMNI OBJ VERSION JANUARY 10, 2023 5

relief granted herein; and after due deliberation and sufficient cause appearing therefor, it is 

hereby:

ORDERED that the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection is GRANTED 

as set forth herein; and it is further

ORDERED that the Claims Heard at August 2021 Hearing, the Claims to be Heard,

and the Claims to Be Reclassified via Notice of Presentment (collectively, the “Claims to Be 

Reclassified”) are hereby reclassified, such that the Claims to Be Reclassified shall now only be 

considered claims asserted as general unsecured claims, as set forth in the column titled “Modified 

Claim” in Exhibit A to the Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Omnibus Objection, respectively; and it is 

further

ORDERED that the Debtors’ right to object to the Claims to Be Reclassified is 

reserved; and it is further

ORDERED that Kroll Restructuring Associates, LLC is authorized and directed to 

correct the Claims to Be Reclassified to reflect their status as general unsecured claims on the 

official claims register in the Title III Cases; and it is further

ORDERED that this Order resolves Docket Entry Nos. 17108 and 22334 in Case 

No. 17-3283; and it is further

ORDERED that this Court shall retain jurisdiction to hear and determine all matters 

arising from or related to the implementation, interpretation, or enforcement of this Order.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 10, 2023

 /s/ Laura Taylor Swain 

LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN

United States District Judge

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