On June 28, 2014, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico adopted the Puerto Rico Corporations Debt Enforcement & Recovery Act, Act 71-2014 (the “Debt Enforcement Act”), enabling certain Commonwealth public corporations in financial distress to restructure their debt obligations. The Debt Enforcement Act establishes a debt enforcement, recovery and restructuring regime for public corporations and other instrumentalities of the Commonwealth during an economic emergency. The goal of the new law is to balance the interests of creditors and other stakeholders with the interest of the Commonwealth to protect its citizens and to enable the financially distressed public corporations to continue to provide essential government services such as the delivery of electricity, gas and clean water.

The Debt Enforcement Act, though, is not limited to restructuring and enforcement of debt obligations or securities. If you lent money or extended other forms of credit, or provided goods or services, to a public corporation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, this new law may affect you...