Ruling from the bench Monday, Southern District Bankruptcy Judge James Peck denied Barclays’ claim to nearly $4 billion in disputed securities and liability offsets related to assets held on margin for customers of now-defunct Lehman Brothers Inc. He also awarded Lehman pre-judgment interest of 5 percent. “Today’s bench ruling brings finality to this issue by confirming that the $4 billion in Lehman cash and other margin assets belong to the Trustee,” William Maguire of Hughes Hubbard & Reed, counsel to Lehman trustee James Giddens of Hughes Hubbard, said in an e-mail.
In February, a ruling by Judge Peck appeared to grant Lehman Brothers about $4.8 billion in assets stemming from Barclays’ acquisition of Lehman properties in 2008. In April, Barclays, represented by Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and Mr. Giddens submitted dueling proposed orders with different interpretations of the ruling. Barclays claimed the decision entitled it to more than $6 billion in disputed margin assets in order to offset liabilities it incurred when it acquired the assets from Lehman.
