On February 20, 2007, Judge Joseph J. Farnan of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware entered an Order granting final judgment, including attorneys’ fees, to Simpson client J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase”) in connection with ongoing litigation relating to the failure of satellite telecommunications company Iridium LLC.
The dispute arises from an $800 million loan which Chase and a syndicate of lenders extended to Iridium in 1998. After Iridium defaulted on the loan in 1999, Chase sought to collect on various pieces of collateral, including the Reserve Capital Call Obligations of Iridium’s members, which totaled $243 million. The parties engaged in significant discovery and trial preparation efforts before summary judgment was granted in favor of Chase in March 2004 on its breach of contract claim. Defendants took the position that certain of their affirmative defenses, as well as Chase’s entitlement to attorney’s fees, remained unresolved, thereby precluding the entry of final judgment. They also sought interlocutory appeal of the District Court’s grant of summary judgment. Chase objected and the Third Circuit rejected Defendant’s motion for certification of an interlocutory appeal. The parties thereafter engaged in significant briefing before the District Court as to what issues, if any, remained unresolved and whether those issues precluded the entry of final judgment. The Court’s February 20, 2007 Order and accompanying Memorandum Opinion rejects each of Defendants’ arguments. In addition, the Court determined that pursuant to the language of the relevant agreements, Chase is entitled to attorneys’ fees for its efforts in enforcing Defendants’ RCC Obligations.
The ruling is the latest in a string of favorable Iridium-related outcomes. Most notably, after a two-week bench trial in late-2001, a $370 million judgment was entered in favor of Chase in connection with a guarantee obligation of Motorola, which had been provided as an additional piece of collateral for the $800 million loan.
Current Simpson attorneys who were active in the Iridium Delaware litigation include Barry Ostrager, Mary Kay Vyskocil, David Woll, Linda Martin, Janet Gochman, Amanda Perez and Kate Russum.