Puerto Rico’s federally-appointed oversight board on Wednesday made its case to reject $5.5 billion in bond debt as part of the commonwealth’s ongoing financial restructuring, Reuters reported. Appearing before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain via a telephonic hearing, oversight board attorney Martin Bienenstock of Proskauer Rose argued that the judge should reject claims brought by holders of bond debt issued by three Puerto Rico instrumentalities, including the Highways and Transportation Authority, because they do not have security or ownership interests in the commonwealth’s funds. The board’s motions for partial summary judgment are part of the island’s court-supervised restructuring process, which has been proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico since May 2017.
