US Bar Date posted on Epiq Web Site for Nortel Claims

Following the court ruling Epiq Systems has now posted the Bar Date for filing proof of claim forms on its web site. As with the Canadian CCAA process the date for filing in the US is September 30th. Proof of claim forms may be found on the Epiq Systems web site. The site may be accessed on the link shown in the right column on this page.

Docket number 1280 on the Epiq site shows the court order.

The notice indicates that Nortel should be sending out notifications to its creditors regarding this bar date. All creditors must submit claims and be listed on the schedule before this date or they are forever barred from claiming against Nortel.

The claims process in Canada is defined on the Ernst and Young web site; also a link on this page.

The following information is not an official notification from the NRPCUS committee. I am providing this to my readers so that they can make up their minds on whether to proceed with filing proof of claim forms or wait for a few days to find out what the NRPC advises.

The steering committee of the NRPC in the US has been attempting to obtain assistance from Segal to calculate claims for the paying membership of the NRPCUS. The intention was to have Nortel send an electronic file to Segal so that the information could be processed efficiently and quickly. However after much discussion, Nortel lawyers have advised the company not to provide the electronic file as it could be a breach of law in terms of privacy of individual information. This is being disputed by the NRPC steering committee. If an agreement is reached in the near term, the NRPC membership will be notified by the steering committee. This calculation assistance by Segal, if it happens, will only be used for people who are paying members of the NRPC US. All other people will have to calculate and file their own proof of claims. You can find more information on the NRPC at the website www.nnra.org.

For people who have Non-Qualified 15 year certain claims, the calculation will be somewhat simpler than those who have claims that need actuarial assistance. The number of months left in the 15 year period times the amount per month is the simplest calculation. Nortel may dispute this by arguing that a cost of future money factor needs to be introduced. At this point there is no guidance on that factor to be used. personally I plan to file a claim that is the number of months left in the 15 year period that they owe me, times the fixed monthly payment.

For people with non-qualified lifetime annuities, you will need assistance from an actuary to determine what factors and interest rates need to be used in calculating the claim. This is further complicated depending on whether it is a single life annuity or a joint survivor annuity. Each case needs individual attention, and you may need to seek professional help to determine the figure.

Once the claims are filed, Nortel may raise points of dispute if their factors differ from those used by individuals.

I will continue to provide updates on this situation as they arise. If you have specific information that may help people calculate their claims please feel free to comment and I will add it into the main postings.