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 and ERS. 

REPLY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO AND THE EMPLOYEES 

RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 

PUERTO RICO TO RESPONSE FILED BY LUZ M. ACEVEDO MERCADO [ECF NO. 

20601] TO THE FOUR HUNDRED FORTY-THIRD OMNIBUS OBJECTION 

(SUBSTANTIVE) TO DEFICIENT ADR CLAIMS 

To the Honorable United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain: 

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the “Commonwealth”) and the Employees Retirement 

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

Commonwealth, the “Debtors”), by and through the Financial Oversight and Management Board 

for Puerto Rico (the “Oversight Board”), as the sole Title III representative of the Debtors pursuant 

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 

-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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to Section 315(b) of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act 

(“PROMESA”),2 file this reply (the “Reply”) in support of the Four Hundred Forty-Third 

Omnibus Objection (Substantive) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Employees 

Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to Deficient ADR 

Claims [ECF No. 20501] (the “Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection”). The Debtors 

respectfully represent as follows: 

1. On April 1, 2022, the Debtors filed the Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus 

Objection seeking to disallow certain deficient claims (the “Claims to Be Disallowed”) which 

purport to assert obligations of the Commonwealth or ERS. As set forth in the Four Hundred 

Forty-Third Omnibus Objection, each of the Claims to Be Disallowed was transferred into the 

ADR Procedures3 via the Twenty-First Notice of Transfer of Claims to Alternative Dispute 

Resolution [ECF No. 20241]. Pursuant to Section 2 of the ADR Procedures, the Debtors mailed 

an Information Request to each claimant associated with a Claim to Be Disallowed to obtain 

documentation and/or information necessary to enable the Debtors to reconcile the proof of claim. 

Each of the claimants associated with a Claim to Be Disallowed either did not respond to the 

Information Request, or responded but failed to provide information sufficient to enable the 

Debtors to ascertain the nature or basis of the purported liabilities. Accordingly, the Debtors filed 

the Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection to object to the Claims to Be Disallowed. 

2. Any party who disputed the Four Hundred Forty-Third 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 Forty-Third Omnibus Objection as 

2

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

3

 Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the 

Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection. 

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Exhibit C, which was served in English and Spanish on the individual creditors subject to the Four 

Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection, the U.S. Trustee, and the Master Service List (as defined 

in the Sixteenth Amended Case Management Procedures [ECF No. 20190-1]). See Certificate of 

Service [ECF No. 20558]. 

3. On April 25, 2022, Luz M. Acevedo Mercado (“Acevedo Mercado”) filed an 

untitled Spanish-language response to the Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection [ECF 

No. 20601] (the “Response”). 

4. On July 2, 2018, Acevedo Mercado filed a claim, which was logged by Prime Clerk 

LLC (now Kroll Restructuring Administration LLC) as Proof of Claim No. 104914 (the “Claim”). 

The Claim asserts Law 89, Romerazo, Law 96, Law 194, and retirement as its bases. The Claim 

does not assert a specific amount in purported liabilities. Nor does the Claim contain any 

additional information or supporting documentation. 

5. On September 24, 2019, Acevedo Mercado, in response to a mailing request from 

the Debtors, submitted a supplemental information form. Therein, Acevedo Mercado asserts that 

he is owed $46,800.00, and a pending legal action underlies the Claim. He further states that the 

pending legal action involves, among other things, assertions based on Law 198 and Law 96, and 

identifies case nos. 2012-05-2084, 2013-1542, and 2013-11-0224. Like the Claim, the 

supplemental mailing does not contain any additional information or supporting documentation.

6. Following the transfer of the Claim to ADR, an additional Information Request was 

mailed to Acevedo Mercado on March 1, 2022. Therein, the Debtors requested information 

regarding the asserted litigations, including the statuses of the cases. A response to the Information 

Request was due on March 24, 2022. Acevedo Mercado did not respond to the Information 

Request. 

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7. In the Response, Acevedo Mercado asserts that the Four Hundred Forty-Third 

Omnibus Objection is “deficient” because he “confirm[s] that [he] was working under the 

Department of Education from 1990-2020 with 30 years of service as a permanent teaching 

employee.” Response at 1. According to Acevedo Mercado, his years of service as a “teaching 

employee” mean that he is owed: (i) $21,600.00 under Law 96-2002, which mandated salary 

increases of $100 per month for certain public employees in active service as of July 1, 2002; and 

(ii) $2,100 under Law 161, which mandated salary increases of $25 per month for certain public 

employees in active service as of July 1, 2014. Id. The Response does not attach any supporting 

documentation or provide any additional information. 

8. The Response does not provide any additional information regarding the purported 

pending legal action; it does not identify the claims or causes of action asserted in the litigation, 

and it does not explain whether such action is still pending. Without this basic information 

regarding the nature and basis of the asserted legal action, the Debtors are unable to assess the 

validity and amount of the Claim. Accordingly, because the Response does not cure the Claim’s 

deficiencies, the Claim remains deficient. 

9. For the foregoing reasons, the Debtors respectfully request that the Court grant the 

Four Hundred Forty-Third Omnibus Objection and disallow the Claims, notwithstanding the 

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/ Martin J. Bienenstock 

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 the Puerto Rico, as 

representative for the Commonwealth and 

ERS

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