The trial of a lawsuit by Lyondell Chemical Co. creditors against billionaire Len Blavatnik that claims a 2007 merger drove the company into bankruptcy is set to begin in New York next month, Bloomberg reported. Summonses were filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan listing Blavatnik and 41 other people and companies that allegedly played a role in Lyondell’s takeover by Luxembourg-based Basell AF SCA. A pretrial conference is set for Sept. 13.

Dubai International Capital, the private equity arm of the Gulf Arab emirate, said it will focus on bringing German aluminium maker Almatis out of bankruptcy after a long-running battle with a dissident lender ended, Reuters Africa reported. Oaktree Capital Management LP withdrew its opposition to DIC's plan to retain control of the bankrupt firm after a settlement offer was leaked. Oaktree and Dubai have been battling over the best way to refinance Almatis, which filed for bankruptcy in the United States with more than $1 billion in debt, for the past year.

The main unit of Mexicana on Tuesday warned it could face liquidation unless Mexico's largest airline was allowed to keep operating aircraft in the wake of its bankruptcy filing, Dow Jones reported. Compania Mexicana de Aviacion filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Mexico on Monday after failing to reach a new deal with its unions to cut costs after a period of rapid expansion. The airline continued to operate most flights Tuesday, but said in court filings that aircraft leasing companies and owners were taking steps to repossess planes.

Oaktree Capital Management LP is willing to give up its fight for control of Almatis BV, a bankrupt aluminum maker, for full payment of its loans and an end to threatened legal action, according to a "confidential" court filing on Monday, Reuters reported. In a letter dated July 27 to an Almatis lawyer, Oaktree's lawyer outlined six conditions for ending Oaktree's battle with Dubai International Capital LLC over the European aluminum company.

A U.K. Court of Appeal ruled in favor of hedge funds that maintained their client money, held in the main European arm of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., wasn't properly protected when the investment bank collapsed, The Wall Street Journal reported. The development is the latest aspect of the complex effort to return cash and other assets to Lehman's clients after the bank failed in September 2008. Lehman's bankruptcy, with more than $600 billion in total assets, ranks as the largest U.S. corporate failure.

A Kazakhstan bank's bid to use the U.S. bankruptcy court to halt an overseas legal proceeding could drag the court into disputes in which the U.S. itself has little at stake, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Kazakhstan's JSC BTA Bank says the U.S. bankruptcy court's decision to grant it Chapter 15 protection in the U.S. after it underwent restructuring in its home country last year extended a key benefit of U.S. bankruptcy law: the automatic stay that halts legal action against a debtor company.

Peru's Ministry for Mining and Energy said Tuesday it will begin the process of winding down Doe Run Peru's management of the country's only polymetallic smelter. Doe Run, a unit of U.S.-based Renco Group Inc., could also face insolvency and environmental proceedings against it by Peru's regulatory bodies, Osinergmin and OEFA, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Osinergmin supervises energy and mining investments, while OEFA is charged with the evaluation of environmental affairs.

Canada's BCE Inc. has agreed to pay $40 million cash and drop $500 million worth of claims to settle litigation over the collapse of Teleglobe Communications Corp., a failed subsidiary, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., set out terms of the pact, which caps five years of litigation in courts in the U.S. and Canada. The deal means cash for bondholders of Teleglobe and a smaller pile of debt in the bankruptcy case, a product of the telecommunications industry meltdown of 2000 and 2001.

AbitibiBowater Inc. is seeking to keep control of its restructuring for an extra three months so it can stay on track to emerge from bankruptcy early this fall, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The giant pulp-and-paper manufacturer is urging the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to extend the time in which it alone has the right to file a Chapter 11 plan of reorganization, which AbitibiBowater has already filed but is continuing to negotiate the terms of with its creditors. If the court doesn't agree to extend its exclusive plan-filing rights through Oct.

Almatis Group said it has lined up $592 million to fund a potential restructuring plan that would see it exit bankruptcy under the ownership of Dubai International Capital, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. In court papers filed Monday, the aluminum company said it expects to ask the bankruptcy court shortly for permission to strike a deal with various firms that are willing to back the Chapter 11 plan of reorganization that current Almatis owner Dubai International Capital wants to sponsor.