Supreme Court Will Hear Argentina’s Appeal of Discovery Orders

January 16, 2014 - On January 10, 2014, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Argentina’s appeal of the Second Circuit’s decision allowing “holdout” bondholders to subpoena banks for information about Argentina’s assets.  EM Ltd. v. Republic of Argentina, 695 F.3d 201 (2d Cir. 2012), cert. granted, Case No. 12-842, 2014 LEXIS 15 (Jan. 10, 2014).  In the lower courts and in its petition for review, Argentina argued that allowing the subpoenas to apply to non-U.S. assets would violate Argentina’s sovereign immunity.  The U.S. Solicitor General filed an amicus curiae brief arguing that the Supreme Court should grant certiorari because the Second Circuit’s decision “raises significant foreign-policy concerns for the United States.”

As discussed here, Argentina is also expected to seek Supreme Court review of the Second Circuit’s decision upholding an injunction barring Argentina from paying holders of restructured debts while “holdout” creditors remain unpaid.  The petition for certiorari in that case is due in February 2014.