ABN Amro Bank

Appellants’ Brief Filed in New York Court of Appeals in Case Alleging Fraudulent Restructuring by MBIA

On March 16, 2011, plaintiffs in ABN Amro Bank, et al. v. MBIA Inc., et al. filed their opening brief in the New York Court of Appeals. Plaintiffs are appealing the 3-to-2 decision of an intermediate appellate court dismissing their suit challenging the “fraudulent restructuring” of monoline insurer MBIA. The case, brought by a group of banks that are beneficiaries of MBIA’s structured finance-related policies, claims that MBIA transferred $5 billion in assets from MBIA Insurance Corporation (a failing subsidiary) to MBIA Illinois (a stronger subsidiary). The move, which occurred in February 2009, was approved by the then-New York Superintendent of Insurance. The plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that the restructuring rendered MBIA Insurance insolvent, was intended to defraud creditors, and was an abuse of corporate form. On appeal, plaintiffs argue that the intermediate appellate court’s holding that their complaint was an improper collateral attack on the Superintendent’s regulatory approval is wrong because they had no opportunity to be heard before the Superintendent gave the approval, because New York insurance law does not bar their claims under the Debtor and Creditor Law, and because the intermediate appellate court improperly shifted the burden to plaintiffs in considering MBIA’s motion to dismiss. Brief.