May 22, 2025
Willkie and co-counsel Eimer Stahl LLP secured a complete summary judgment win for client PDV Holding, Inc. (“PDVH”) against Plaintiffs Girard Street Investment Holdings LLC and G&A Strategic Investments I–VII LLC. On May 20, 2025, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of PDVH, rejecting the Plaintiffs’ claims that PDVH is the alter ego of PDVSA and that it must be directly liable for notes issued by PDVSA that were allegedly in default. Plaintiffs’ claims, if successful, would have caused a major disruption to the long-running case Crystallex Int’l Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 17-mc-151 (D. Del.) (“Crystallex”), which involves the potential sale of PDVH to satisfy creditors of Venezuela and PDVSA, and it would have meant considerable additional litigation as creditors of PDVSA and the Government of Venezuela scrambled to establish the seniority of their debts. Certain Plaintiffs previously opted not to participate in the Crystallex sale process but instead attempted to leapfrog the other Crystallex creditors with their claims in the SDNY. This decisive victory sends a strong signal to other similarly situated plaintiffs attempting to bring claims like those rejected in this case.
The Willkie team was led by partners Michael Gottlieb, Robert Meyer, Samuel Hall, and Andrew English. The Willkie team also included associates Courtney LaHaie, Kathryn Garrett, D. Jason Kelly, Noah Mussmon, Linda E. Halfacre, Lindsay Hemminger, Amanda Cort, and Samantha Huang.
The Willkie team was led by partners Michael Gottlieb, Robert Meyer, Samuel Hall, and Andrew English. The Willkie team also included associates Courtney LaHaie, Kathryn Garrett, D. Jason Kelly, Noah Mussmon, Linda E. Halfacre, Lindsay Hemminger, Amanda Cort, and Samantha Huang.
