In In re Sibaham Limited, the bankruptcy court denied the objecting parties’ motion for clarification seeking to file a class action in the United States and for the debtor to turn over a copy of any applicable insurance policy. In denying the motion for a class action, the court held: (i) the Chapter 15 recognition order expressly prohibited any legal proceeding against the debtor; (ii) the automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1520 prohibited the commencement of any legal proceeding against the debtor within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States; (iii) there was nothing in the objecting parties’ motion that met the for “cause” factors to grant relief from the automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(d)(1); (iv) the debtor’s choice of the United Kingdom as the main forum would be unduly prejudiced by the class action; (v) the objecting parties can object in the main forum if desired; and (vi) the principals of international comity prohibit the class action lawsuit. Further, the bankruptcy court denied the objecting parties’ request for documents because Chapter 15 discovery in a foreign main proceeding can only be granted at the request of the foreign representative pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 1521(a)(4).
