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) 

This filing relates to the 

Commonwealth, HTA, and PBA.

NOTICE OF CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING THE FOUR HUNDRED THIRTYNINTH OMNIBUS OBJECTION (SUBSTANTIVE) OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

PUERTO RICO, THE PUERTO RICO HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION 

AUTHORITY, AND THE PUERTO RICO PUBLIC BUILDINGS AUTHORITY TO 

DUPLICATE AND NO LIABILITY BOND CLAIMS 

To the Honorable United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain: 

1. On April 1, 2022, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”), the 

Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority (“HTA”), and the Puerto Rico Public 

Buildings Authority (“PBA,” and together with the Commonwealth and HTA, the “Debtors”), by 

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 (the “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”, and together with 

the Commonwealth, COFINA, HTA, ERS, and PREPA, the “Debtors”) (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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and through the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (the “Oversight 

Board”), as the sole Title III representative of the Debtors pursuant to Section 315(b) of the Puerto 

Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”),2 filed the Four 

Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection (Substantive) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 

Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, and the Puerto Rico Public Buildings 

Authority to Duplicate and No Liability Bond Claims [ECF No. 20497] (the “Four Hundred ThirtyNinth Omnibus Objection”). 

2. The Four Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection seeks to disallow in their 

entirety certain proofs of claim, each of which is based, in part, on (a) bond claims that are 

duplicative of one or more master proofs of claim filed against the Debtors on behalf of the holders 

of certain bonds, (b) an ownership interest in bonds issued by GDB, which is not a Title III Debtor, 

or (c) investments in mutual funds, which in turn may have invested in bonds issued by the 

Debtors. 

3. Any party who disputed the Four Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection was 

required to file a response by 4:00 p.m. (Atlantic Standard Time) on May 2, 2022, in accordance 

with the Court-approved notice attached to the Four Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection as 

Exhibit C, which was served in English and Spanish on the individual creditors subject to the FourHundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection, the U.S. Trustee, and the Master Service List (as 

defined by the Sixteenth Amended Case Management Procedures [ECF No. 20190-1]). See 

Certificate of Service [ECF No. 20558]. See Certificate of Service [ECF No. 20558]. 

2

 PROMESA is codified at 48 U.S.C. §§ 2101–2241. 

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4. On May 2, 2022, the Debtors received correspondence (the “Yolanda Rivera 

Response”) from Carmen Yolanda Rivera (“Yolanda Rivera”) in connection with the Four 

Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection. A true and correct copy of the Yolanda Rivera 

Response and its corresponding certified translation are attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and Exhibit 

“A-1,” respectively. 

5. Yolanda Rivera filed a proof of claim against the Commonwealth on May 24, 2018, 

and it was logged by Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC as Proof of Claim No. 31525 (the 

“Yolanda Rivera Claim”). The Yolanda Rivera Claim asserted unspecified liabilities in the 

amount of $121,218.00, but failed to provide any basis for asserting any such liabilities and failed 

to attach any supporting documentation. 

6. On February 9, 2022, Yolanda Rivera responded to an information request 

propounded by the Debtors and provided information pertaining to certain bonds Yolanda Rivera 

purported to assert in the Yolanda Rivera Claim. Specifically, Yolanda Rivera provided brokerage 

statements from UBS and Santander, each of which asserted liabilities associated with mutual 

funds, which, in turn, may have invested in certain bonds issued by the Debtors. A true and correct 

copy of the Yolanda Rivera Information Request and its corresponding certified translation are 

attached hereto as Exhibit “B” and Exhibit “B-1,” respectively. 

7. Accordingly, the Debtors objected to the Yolanda Rivera Claim on the Four 

Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus Objection because it purported to assert liabilities based on an 

investment in mutual funds. 

8. The Yolanda Rivera Response asserts claimant “do[es] not agree with the decision 

made by you in this case.” Yolanda Rivera Response at 2. The Yolanda Rivera Response further 

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states that “we have sent a copy of the investment transactions for evidence, but I don’t understand 

why we are not able to receive X percent of the total.” Id. 

9. The Yolanda Rivera Response does not dispute that the Yolanda Rivera Claim is 

based in part on investments in mutual funds, which, in turn, may have purchased bonds issued by 

the Debtors. The Yolanda Rivera Response also does not dispute that, because Yolanda Rivera is 

an investor in one or more mutual funds that in turn may have invested in bonds issued by the 

Debtors, the Yolanda Rivera Claim is derivative of claims that must be asserted by the mutual 

funds directly for any claimed recovery to be considered by the Court. See, e.g., S. Blvd., Inc. v. 

Martin Paint Stores, 207 B.R. 57, 61 (S.D.N.Y. 1997) (holding that, under the Bankruptcy Code, 

a creditor is one who “has a claim against the debtor or the estate” rather than “a creditor of one of 

the debtor’s creditors.”). The Yolanda Rivera Response therefore does not articulate any basis 

upon which Yolanda Rivera, as an investor in a mutual fund, might assert a direct claim against 

the Debtors in respect of her investment in such mutual funds. 

10. Accordingly, the Debtors respectfully request the Yolanda Rivera Claim be 

disallowed in its entirety and that the Court grant the Four Hundred Thirty-Ninth Omnibus 

Objection, notwithstanding the Yolanda Rivera Response. 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank] 

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Dated: April 11, 2023 Respectfully submitted, 

 San Juan, Puerto Rico 

/s/ Hermann D. Bauer 

Hermann D. Bauer 

USDC No. 215205 

Carla García Benítez 

USDC No. 203708 

O’NEILL & BORGES LLC 

250 Muñoz Rivera Ave., Suite 800 

San Juan, PR 00918-1813 

Tel: (787) 764-8181 

Fax: (787) 753-8944 

/s/ Brian S. Rosen 

Martin J. Bienenstock (pro hac vice) 

Brian S. Rosen (pro hac vice) 

PROSKAUER ROSE LLP

Eleven Times Square 

New York, NY 10036 

Tel: (212) 969-3000 

Fax: (212) 969-2900 

Attorneys for the Financial Oversight and 

Management Board for Puerto Rico, as 

representative for the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Highways and 

Transportation Authority, and the Puerto 

Rico Public Buildings Authority 

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