The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected a petition from Burford Capital for an extraordinary appeal on June 2 [1].
This ruling maintains the current legal standing regarding the expropriation of YPF, preventing an immediate reversal of a judgment that requires Argentina to pay billions in compensation. The decision limits the legal maneuvers available to the investment firm as it seeks to enforce the payment.
The court denied the request to review a judgment issued in March [1]. That previous ruling ordered Argentina to pay compensation for the expropriation of the state oil company, YPF. According to various reports, the compensation amount ranges between $16 billion [3] and $16.1 billion [2].
Judges said that the petition did not meet the legal standards required for an extraordinary appeal [4]. Consequently, the court declined to reopen the case and suspended all further appeals at this level [3].
Burford Capital now has 90 days to seek a review of the matter by the U.S. Supreme Court [1]. This remains the final available legal avenue for the firm to challenge the current state of the proceedings in the United States.
The legal battle centers on the Argentine government's seizure of YPF and the subsequent failure to offer the compensation required by the company's bylaws. The Second Circuit's refusal to grant the extraordinary appeal means the March judgment remains the active order of the court.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected a petition from Burford Capital for an extraordinary appeal”
The rejection of this petition signifies that the U.S. appellate court views the March judgment as legally sound and not subject to emergency revision. While Burford Capital can still petition the Supreme Court, the high threshold for such reviews means the current financial liability for Argentina is likely to persist unless a rare intervention occurs at the highest judicial level.
