NOTE: Pursuant to the Order Discharging the Trustee, Canceling His Bond, Closing the Estate and Granting Related Relief (ECF No. 15413) dated September 28, 2022, the Lehman Brothers Inc. SIPA case was closed. This site is left up for archival purposes.
Case Information
This is the website for information pertaining to the U.S. Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 ("SIPA") liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc. ("LBI"), the U.S. broker-dealer of Lehman Brothers. James W. Giddens was appointed Trustee for the liquidation, and Hughes Hubbard Reed LLP was appointed as counsel to the Trustee.
On September 19, 2008, the Court entered an order granting the application of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC") for issuance of a Protective Decree adjudicating that the customers of LBI are in need of protection afforded by ("SIPA"). The liquidation has been referred to, and is now being administered under, the auspices of The Honorable Shelley C. Chapman, United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Case No. 08-01420 (SCC) (SIPA). The liquidation of LBI is overseen by James W. Giddens, as the Trustee appointed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The Trustee fulfills public duties assigned under SIPA. The Main Case Docket can be accessed through the website maintained by the United States Bankruptcy Court ( http://www.nysb.uscourts.gov). An unofficial version of the Docket is accessible by selecting the “Docket” link at the top of this page.
Pursuant to the Order Authorizing the Trustee to Enter Into a Liquidating Trust Agreement, all allowed general unsecured claims have been exchanged for an interest in the LBI Liquidating Trust. For the Trust Website, please visit https://dm.epiq11.com/lbitrust.
The information on this website does not apply to any other Lehman entity, including separate insolvency proceedings involving Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. (LBHI) and Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE). For inquiries regarding those proceedings, please visit http://www.lehman-docket.com or http://www.pwc.co.uk, respectively.
Case Actions
- Submit Inquiry
Latest News
Key Parties
-
Debtor's Counsel
Debtor's Counsel
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLPOne Battery Park PlazaNew York, NY 10001(212) 837-6000 -
Trustee
Trustee
James W. GiddensTrustee for the SIPA Liquidation ofLehman Brothers Inc.c/o Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLPOne Battery Park PlazaNew York, NY 10001(212) 837-6000
Trustee
The liquidation of Lehman Brothers Inc. under SIPA is the largest and most complex stock broker liquidation ever attempted, and one of the largest and most complex insolvency proceedings of any kind in history.
The Trustee for the liquidation of LBI fulfills a public duty assigned under SIPA. The Trustee's primary duty under the law is the return of customer property to customers of LBI as defined under SIPA, while at the same time maximizing the estate for all creditors.
Since his appointment on September 19, 2008 by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Trustee has administered more than $123 billion in the SIPA liquidation of LBI.
All of the Trustee's actions are in coordination with the advice of SIPC. More information on SIPC is available at www.sipc.org. Please also refer to the SIPC Investor Guide and
How SIPC Protects You.
About the Trustee
James W. Giddens was appointed trustee for the liquidation, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP was appointed as counsel to the Trustee, and the case was removed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The Trustee makes every effort to keep interested parties informed on all ongoing efforts to administer the LBI estate. For contact information please email teamlehman@hugheshubbard.com.
Reform Efforts
A SIPA trustee has a duty under the law to investigate the reasons of the broker's failure and, as is traditional, to identify problems that could be remedied in future liquidations. In the case of LBI, these efforts include lessons learned, considerations, and recommendations for the Court, legislators, and regulators.
In that connection, the Trustee made several recommendations for future broker-dealer liquidations in its Preliminary Investigation Report. In all phases of their efforts, the Trustee and his professionals work hand in hand with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, meet regularly with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, and liaise with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the British Financial Services Authority.
In February 2015, the Trustee filed his Preliminary Realization Report, which substantially concluded the Trustee’s SIPA-mandated investigative duties.
The Trustee has also provided hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and information to several governmental entities involved in reform efforts, including the General Accounting Office, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, and the Congressional Oversight Panel.
The Trustee was a member of the SIPC Modernization Task Force, which in February 2012 released its report outlining recommendations related to the SIPC.
Deadline to File Claims
Proofs of Claim Forms
The deadline for filing all proofs of claim against the Debtor in this case was established by the Bankruptcy Court as June 1, 2009, and the deadline for receiving the maximum possible protection for customer claims under SIPA was established as January 30, 2009.
Sale To Barclays
On September 20, 2008, the Court entered an Order Under 11 U.S.C. §§ 105(a), 363, and 365 and Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 2002, 6004 and 6006 Authorizing and Approving (A) The Sale of Purchased Assets Free and Clear of Liens and Other Interests and (B) Assumption and Assignment of Executory Contracts and Unexpired Leases (the "Sale Order"). Click on the links below to see the various documents associated with the sale.
Executed Sale Documents
Asset Purchase Agreement
First Amendment to Asset Purchase Agreement
Clarification Letter
DTCC Letter
Sale Motion/Order Documents
Claims Information and Distributions
The goal of SIPA is to transfer or return cash or property as promptly as possible to customers of a failed brokerage firm. SIPA lays out a process for returning assets that requires fairness for all claimants.
The Trustee achieved 100% distribution to LBI's former customers by transferring over 110,000 accounts to other institutions through the customer account transfers and by distributing $13.5 billion through the customer claims process in full satisfaction of all allowed customer claims.
All former securities customers are being satisfied at 100% of their net equity. Distributions to date exceed $100 billion and are continuing. The process of analyzing, objecting to, settling, and otherwise resolving the more than 12,000 filed general creditor claims is advancing.
Customer Distributions
All former securities customers have been satisfied at 100% of their net equity. The distributions were made possible by settlements negotiated by the Trustee with LBHI and LBIE, which are now effective.
There are no remaining disputed customer claims. Distributions on allowed customer claims are complete, and the customer estate is closed.
Customer Account Transfer Process
- Pursuant to SIPA and the Court order commencing the liquidation of LBI, the Trustee effectuated transfers of three sets of customer accounts: (i) Private Asset Management ("PAM") accounts; (ii) Private Investment Management ("PIM") accounts; and prime brokerage ("PB") accounts (together, the "Account Transfers").
- The Account Transfers involved transferring over 110,000 customer accounts representing over $92 billion in account value so that customers could access their property and continue trading through Neuberger Berman, Barclays Capital Inc. and other SIPC member broker-dealers. These transfers protected thousands of customers from disruption and delay, preserved billions of dollars in value and eased market tensions in exceptionally uncertain times.
- On December 10, 2009, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the final remaining transfer of PIM assets to former LBI customers. This milestone brought to a successful conclusion the Account Transfer phase of the SIPA liquidation of LBI. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York all supported the Trustee's motion and the account transfer process, and with this ruling their and the Trustee's goal of customer protection has in fact been achieved. The Trustee obtained permission of the Court to implement the Account Transfers for the benefit of customers by order dated December 14, 2009.
Administrative Claims
The Bankruptcy Court has entered orders which required that certain administrative expenses against the Lehman Brothers Inc. estate arising from September 19, 2008 through December 31, 2021 be asserted prior to certain Court-established bar date deadlines. These bar date deadlines have now passed and any such claim for administrative expense for this time period is now time barred. These administrative bar dates were another step that has helped provide certainty on the amount of administrative expenses claimed against the LBI estate. This will support further progress in the administration of the general estate and wind-down of the case.
Claims Registers
The Trustee, by and through his Claims Agent, EPIQ Systems, maintains Customer and General Creditor Claims Registers (the "Registers"). Parties-in-interest may view the General Creditor Claims Register here and may obtain online access to review the Customer Claim Register and filed-claim forms by contacting EPIQ Systems at (646) 282-2500. Parties should take notice of the disclaimers accompanying both Registers and the notes associated with the Customer Claims Register. In addition, parties should take notice that certain claims on the Customer Claims Register remain on that Register (rather than the General Creditor Claims Register) though the Customer Claims have been reclassified to General Creditor Claim status.
General Creditor Claims and Distributions
Secured, priority, and administrative creditors with allowed claims have received 100% distributions. In addition, distributions from the LBI estate to general unsecured creditors with allowed claims total at least 41.2841%, or approximately $9.4 billion, through eight distributions.