Creditor update – 23 July 2014 deed poll relating to limitation of claims - 24 July 2014

15 September 2014 is the six-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers International (Europe)’s (“LBIE”) entry into administration. In light of this impending anniversary, certain creditors have made enquiries in respect of the limitation periods applicable to their claims that arose at or around the time of the commencement of the administration. The purpose of this Announcement is to provide clarity in relation to provable and non-provable claims (including any entitlement in respect of interest under rules 2.88(7) to 2.88(9) of the Insolvency Rules 1986) (“Relevant Claims”). Relevant Claims do not include any claims which were subject to a Limitation Defence (as defined below) on the date LBIE first issued a notice of proposed distribution, being 4 December 2009 (the “Relevant Date”).

To address these enquiries and to avoid:

1. a large number of requests being made of the Administrators for their consent to commence proceedings against LBIE;
2. possible applications to the Court for permission to commence such proceedings; and
3. numerous sets of “protective” proceedings being issued against LBIE,

the Administrators have caused LBIE to enter into a Deed Poll (the “Deed”). The Deed provides legal assurance to the holders of Relevant Claims (who have submitted a Proof of Debt in LBIE’s administration, or will do so on or before 15 September 2014) that LBIE will not rely upon any defence or argument based on limitation, time bar, or other defence based on the expiry of the time period within which legal proceedings must be commenced (a “Limitation Defence”), in any proceedings relating to Relevant Claims.

The Deed can be accessed here.

Do I need to take any action?

The effect of the Deed is to legally bind LBIE to the course of action detailed therein. There is no requirement for any action to be taken by any other party. In particular, the Deed is a unilateral declaration and does not need to be countersigned to have legal effect. However, creditors are reminded that they must submit a Proof of Debt on or before 15 September 2014 (if they have not already done so) in order for the Deed to apply to them.

This Announcement is intended to alert counterparties to the existence and provisions of the Deed. In the event of a conflict between this Announcement and the terms of the Deed, the terms of the Deed shall prevail.

Should you have any queries regarding this update, please contact LBIE’s Communications and Counterparty Management team at generalqueries@lbia-eu.com.