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On August 23, 2010 the Honorable James M. Peck of the United States Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York entered a memorandum decision in In re JSC BTA Bank, No. 10-10638, denying plaintiff BTA Bank’s motion for sanctions against Firm client Banque Internationale de Commerce-Bred (“BIC-BRED”).  BTA Bank alleged that BIC-BRED had willfully violated the automatic stay that came into effect upon entry of the Court’s prior order recognizing BTA Bank’s pending Kazakhstan bankruptcy case as a foreign main proceeding pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code by continuing to participate in the parties’ pending Swiss arbitral proceeding.  In a case of first impression, the Court concluded that section 1520(a) of the Code stays actions against a foreign debtor within the United States and applies to proceedings in other countries only to the extent that such actions affect property of the debtor that is “within the jurisdiction of the United States.” Because the Swiss arbitral proceeding had no nexus to any property within the United States, the Chapter 15 Recognition Order did not apply to that proceeding and BIC-BRED did not violate the stay.  The STB team consisted of William Russell, Robert Smit and Paige Fleming, former associate Hiral Mehta and summer associate Johnson Atkinson.  William Russell presented oral argument to the Court.