The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) has suspended the legal proceedings in the case filed by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Company (PDIC) and the closed LBC Development Bank against LBC Express, Inc. (LEI) and LBC Development Corp. (LDC) in order to give the parties more opportunity to discuss an amicable settlement.
Makati RTC Branch 134 acting presiding judge Elpidio Calis on May 25 granted the Joint Motion to Suspend Proceedings and deferred the pre-trial of Civil Case No. 15-1258 to September 6, 2018. The hearing was supposed to happen last May 31.
The joint motion was filed by PDIC, LEI, LDC, and other defendants in the case, according to LBC Express Holdings, Inc. (LEHI) in a June 20 disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Civil Case No. 15-1258 was filed in 2015 by PDIC on behalf of shuttered LBC Bank against LDC and LEI as well as several other defendants, claiming the defendants owed the bank nearly P2 billion in unpaid service fees. LDC is LBC Bank’s parent firm.
PDIC earlier said the charge against the defendants was for violating Republic Act 3591, as amended, or the PDIC Charter by conducting business in an unsafe and unsound manner that caused LBC Bank aggregate losses of at least P1.8 billion
Defendants also include LBC Properties, Inc., Juan Carlos Araneta, Santiago Araneta, Fernando Araneta, Monica Araneta, Carlos Araneta, Ma. Eliza G. Berenguer, Ofelia F. Cuevas, Apolonia L. Ilio, Joseph Jeffrey Rodriguez, and Arlan T. Jurado.
“With the granting of the joint motion to suspend proceedings, the parties would have the opportunity to amicably settle and resolve the case,” LEHI said.
LDC and LEI in January 2016 filed a motion to dismiss the case and posted a counter-bond to lift the garnishment order on its bank accounts, which caused administrative challenges particularly in the manner by which the latter may pay its suppliers and other counterparties.
The Makati RTC in February of the same year granted the motion to lift the writ of preliminary attachment and garnishment issued against LEI’s bank accounts.
