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, ERS, and 

HTA.

NOTICE OF CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING FIVE 

HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH OMNIBUS OBJECTION (NON-SUBSTANTIVE) 

OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, THE EMPLOYEES 

RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 

COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, AND THE PUERTO RICO HIGHWAYS 

AND TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY TO CLAIMS ASSERTING LIABILITIES 

OWED BY ENTITIES THAT ARE NOT TITLE III DEBTORS 

To the Honorable United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain: 

1. On September 16, 2022, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the 

“Commonwealth”), the Employees Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth 

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

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 together with the Commonwealth and ERS, 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 Commonwealth pursuant to Section 315(b) of the Puerto Rico Oversight, 

Management, and Economic Stability Act (“PROMESA”),2 filed the Five Hundred Eighteenth 

Omnibus Objection (Non-Substantive) of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Employees 

Retirement System of the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico 

Highways and Transportation Authority to Claims Asserting Liabilities Owed By Entities That Are 

Not Title III Debtors [ECF No. 22247] (the “Five Hundred Eighteenth Omnibus Objection”) to 

various proofs of claim. 

1. The Five Hundred Eighteenth Omnibus Objection seeks to disallow claims 

asserting liabilities owed by entities that are not Title III debtors, each as set forth on Exhibit A 

thereto (the “Claims to Be Disallowed”). Each of the Claims to Be Disallowed fails to comply 

with the applicable rules because they do not provide a basis for asserting a claim against the 

Commonwealth, ERS, HTA, or any other Title III Debtor for liabilities purportedly owed by 

entities that are not Title III debtors. 

2. Any party who disputed the Five Hundred Eighteenth Omnibus Objection was 

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

accordance with the Court-approved notice attached to the Five Hundred Eighteenth Objection as 

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

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

2

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

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in the Sixteenth Amended Notice, Case Management and Administrative Procedures [ECF No. 20190-

1]). See Certificate of Service [ECF No. 22563]. 

3. The Debtors received correspondence from Vilma Maldonado Reyes (the “Claimant”), 

a certified translation of which is attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Response”), regarding Proof of 

Claim No. 12237 (the “Claim”). The Claim was filed against ERS, and purports to assert liabilities in 

an undetermined amount against the University of Puerto Rico (“UPR”) and the University of Puerto 

Rico Retirement System (the “UPR Retirement System”).

4. As is explained in the Five Hundred Eighteenth Omnibus Objection, UPR and the UPR 

Retirement System are not Title III debtors. Instead, they are separate and legally distinct entities and, 

pursuant to Puerto Rico law, the Debtors are not liable for their obligations. “The debts or obligations 

of [UPR] shall not be debts or obligations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, nor of any 

municipality or other political subdivision of Puerto Rico, and neither the Commonwealth of Puerto 

Rico nor any municipality or political subdivision of Puerto Rico shall be liable therefor.” 18 L.P.R.A. 

§ 612(f); see also 18 L.P.R.A. § 602(a) (granting corporate authority to UPR). Further, it is UPR’s 

responsibility to maintain the UPR Retirement System, and not the responsibility of ERS or any Title 

III debtor. See 18 L.P.R.A. § 602(h)(15) (the Governing Board of UPR has a duty to “maintain a 

medical insurance plan and a pension system for all university personnel”). 

5. The Response does not address the Debtors’ arguments that UPR and the UPR 

Retirement System are not Title III debtors, or that the Claim does not provide any basis for ERS or 

any Title III debtor to be obligated for amounts purportedly owed by UPR or the UPR Retirement 

System. Neither the Claim nor the Response provides a basis for asserting a claim against ERS or any 

Title III debtor.

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

Five Hundred Eighteenth Omnibus Objection, notwithstanding the Response. 

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Dated: April 11, 2023 

San Juan, Puerto Rico 

Respectfully submitted, 

/s/ Hermann D. Bauer 

Hermann D. Bauer 

USDC No. 215205 

Carla García-Benítez 

USDC No. 203708 

Gabriel A. Miranda 

USDC No. 306704 

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 

Puerto Rico, as representative of the 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the 

Employees Retirement System of the 

Government of the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico

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