On June 19, 2014, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in In re Octaviar Admin. Pty Ltd, Case No. 14-10438 (SCC) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. June 19, 2014), ECF No. 18, granted the Foreign Representatives’ petition for recognition of the Australian liquidation proceeding of Octaviar Administration Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (“Octaviar”) pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code based on the presence of "property in the United States" in the form of: (i) claims and causes of action against U.S. defendants and (ii) a retainer held by Octaviar’s U.S. counsel. This Bankruptcy Court decision follows a Second Circuit decision that held that the eligibility standards in § 109 of the Bankruptcy Code – which require a debtor to have “a domicile, a place of business, or property in the United States” – apply to Chapter 15 debtors and vacated the Recognition Order and remanded to the Bankruptcy Court for further proceedings.
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