HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. and Assured Guaranty Corp., two bond insurance subsidiaries of Assured Guaranty Ltd. (NYSE:AGO)(together with its subsidiaries, Assured Guaranty or the Company), have voluntarily withdrawn without prejudice their lawsuit challenging the legality of the Commonwealth’s Fiscal Plan as certified by The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (Oversight Board). The complaint, filed on May 3, 2017, asserted that the certified Fiscal Plan violated multiple provisions of PROMESA and the United States Constitution.
“While we continue to believe the current Fiscal Plan is illegal, we have determined to voluntarily dismiss our complaint without prejudice at this time due to the crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, and the high likelihood that the Fiscal Plan will have to be revised,” said Dominic Frederico, President and CEO of Assured Guaranty. “Now is no time to be arguing over these issues, when residents of the island are suffering. The current focus should remain on restoration and relief for Puerto Rico. Additionally, it would be an avoidable misallocation of time, money and judicial resources to litigate issues about a Fiscal Plan that is expected to change.”
Assured Guaranty urges the Oversight Board to use this opportunity to reset its relationship with creditors, correct the defects in the current Fiscal Plan and work collaboratively with creditors on a new fiscal plan that complies with the mandatory statutory requirements of PROMESA, the Commonwealth Constitution, and the United States Constitution. Meeting PROMESA’s dual stated purpose of fiscal responsibility and restoration of the Commonwealth’s access to the capital markets has become even more critical in the aftermath of the hurricane damage.
Under applicable law, Assured Guaranty is permitted to refile the lawsuit. If insufficient progress is made in developing a new fiscal plan that complies with PROMESA and respects Assured Guaranty’s constitutional, statutory and contractual rights, Assured Guaranty will refile the lawsuit at an appropriate time.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect Assured Guaranty’s current views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those resulting from further adverse developments in Puerto Rico or at any of its instrumentalities, litigation that has already been initiated or may be initiated in the future, governmental or legislative action or inaction by Puerto Rico or the United States (including any actions taken by the Oversight Board, other risks and uncertainties that have not been identified at this time, management’s response to these factors, and other risk factors identified in Assured Guaranty’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made as of October 6, 2017. Assured Guaranty undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Assured Guaranty Ltd. is a publicly traded Bermuda-based holding company. Its operating subsidiaries provide credit enhancement products to the U.S. and international public finance, infrastructure and structured finance markets. More information on Assured Guaranty Ltd. and its subsidiaries can be found at AssuredGuaranty.com.
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