Federal judge Loretta Preska, of the Southern District of New York, has dismissed the request from the non-governmental organization Republican Action for Argentina (RA4ARG) to intervene in the case that condemned Argentina to pay $16 billion for the expropriation of YPF in 2012. The RA4ARG request sought to annul the ruling, but the judge argued that it was submitted too late and that the organization had no direct interest in the case.
In her ruling, Judge Preska cited legal precedents that supported her decision and upheld the position of the investment fund, thereby closing the possibility of reviewing the ruling at this stage. This setback represents a new obstacle for Argentina in its legal dispute over YPF and it must now await the outcome of the appeal filed with the U.S. Circuit Court in an attempt to overturn the hefty ruling.
The litigation dates back to 2015, when Petersen Energía Inversora and Eton Park Capital Management sued Argentina for the expropriation of YPF. Burford Capital, the fund that financed the lawsuit, was the primary beneficiary of the ruling, while the Argentine state, represented by the Treasury Attorney's Office, supported the RA4ARG request for a criminal investigation, the suspension of judicial proceedings, and the annulment of the ruling.
The judge pointed out that the intervention request submitted by RA4ARG came too late and lacked a direct interest in the case, emphasizing the importance that any intervention must be timely and backed by a concrete, not remote, interest. Despite this rejection, the legal battle continues, and the appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court is expected to define the future of this controversy, which culminated in 2022 with one of the largest rulings in the history of international law.
