For the past several years, Washington Legal Foundation has participated as an amicus in high-profile litigation where U.S.-based bondholders are fighting to enforce contracts with Argentina. That nation defaulted on its commercial debt and, the plaintiffs and WLF have argued, has unlawfully chosen to make interest payments to some bondholders while ignoring the legitimate claims of others. Most recently, WLF filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and a decision from that court is imminent.
Today, WLF’s Litigation Division Chief Counsel Richard Samp authored a commentary for National Review Online’s Bench Memos which discusses an August 20 decision by a federal district court involving a dispute between Grenada and the Export-Import Bank of China. Rich outlines the clear differences between the factual situation in the Grenada dispute and the litigation involving Argentina, and argues that the Grenada case should not reinforce the fears of some on Wall Street that the Argentina litigation would initiate a wave of litigation over foreign debt.