A U.S. federal judge refused Wednesday to enforce Mexican glass maker Vitro SAB's controversial debt restructuring in a closely watched bankruptcy case that threatened to sever the cross-border business cooperation between the two nation's legal systems, The Wall Street Journal reported. Judge Harlin D. "Cooter" Hale of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas sided with bondholders in rejecting Vitro's bid, in what has been called one of the most important cases decided under Chapter 15, the section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code governing international insolvencies.

Vitro SAB’s bid to enforce its Mexican bankruptcy plan in the U.S. is set to be decided by a judge next week after the glassmaker clashed with bondholders in court over the plan, Bloomberg reported. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Harlin DeWayne Hale in Dallas said in court today that he plans to rule on Vitro’s enforcement motion next week, probably by June 13. Vitro, which has won approval for the bankruptcy plan in Mexico, is seeking an order from Hale enforcing the restructuring and stopping litigation by bondholders who have been fighting the plan in the U.S.

Investors and financial analysts have their eyes on a bankruptcy case, pending in a Dallas courtroom, that they say could systematically shift how American firms do business with Mexican companies, KETK reported. The case also comes at a time when business interests from both sides of the Rio Grande are pushing to include Mexico in the current Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. Mexican glass company Vitro S.A.B filed for voluntary bankruptcy in December 2010, after defaulting on about $1.2 billion in bond debt held by foreign banks, including American interests.

Mexico is studying international best practices for corporate bankruptcy proceedings after glassmaker Vitro SAB’s use of intercompany debt caused some investors to question the country’s laws, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Vitro, which won a Mexican court’s approval this month for its debt restructuring plan, has called attention to a loophole in the country’s bankruptcy process that allowed it to use loans made to itself to qualify as its own biggest creditor.

Mexican glass maker Vitro SAB said Tuesday that a court in Mexico has approved its debt restructuring, but that it expects certain of its bondholders who have fought the deal to continue efforts against the plan, Dow Jones reported. In a press release, Vitro said a judge in Monterrey approved the proposed restructuring put forward by the conciliator in the case. The restructuring of $1.5 billion in third-party debt has caused controversy among bondholders, as it involves Vitro voting on an additional $1.9 billion in intercompany debt to secure the majority needed for approval.

A fight between Vitro SAB and its creditors is heating up, as a New York judge ruled that the Mexican glass maker must honor more than $1 billion in debt obligations to a group of disgruntled bondholders, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The decision by New York Supreme Court Judge Bernard J. Fried, signed Monday, came one day before Vitro announced that creditors holding 74% of its debt have signed off on its restructuring plan in Mexico.

Vitro SAB, the Mexican glassmaker that defaulted on $1.5 billion of bonds, probably won’t conclude its debt restructuring by year-end as the company anticipates, the court-appointed arbitrator in the proceedings said, Bloomberg reported. External creditors, who oppose Vitro’s restructuring proposal, will raise more legal challenges with the judge in the case, arbitrator Javier Navarro-Velasco said by telephone from Monterrey, Mexico. He will present the proposal to the judge by Dec.

Mexican mining and railroad company Grupo Mexico SA said it has dropped a plan to merge its U.S. unit Asarco with Southern Copper Corp., the subsidiary that runs its Mexican and Peruvian mining operations, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In its third-quarter earnings report, released Sunday, Grupo Mexico said Americas Mining Corporation, the holding company of its mining division, will explore strategic alternatives which could include securities offerings in capital markets.

Two Congressmen from opposite sides of the aisle are calling on the Mexican government to take action in Vitro S.A.B.'s restructuring, which they say could set a "dangerous precedent" that will hurt investors in the Mexican glass company and future cross-border investment, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Rep. Jared Polis (D., Colo.) and Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.) sent a letter last week to the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C., warning about the danger of allowing Vitro's pending restructuring to proceed.

Vitro S.A.B.'s bondholders are pushing to move forward with a legal battle that could cost $1.35 billion or more, calling the Mexican glassmaker's bid to stop them a meritless "act of pure gamesmanship," Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. An informal group of bondholders and bond trustee Wilmington Trust separately asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas Thursday to deny Vitro's request to enforce the shield of bankruptcy currently protecting the company from litigation, according to court papers.