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I would say this case has billion-dollar issues, but only the budget for a few million dollars. Luc Despins, Paul Hastings LLP — as well as environmental clean-up costs. Seldom do you see all of those items present in a single case and certainly not of this magnitude. Add to it the involvement of at least three different levels of government on the Canadian side, various third parties who will likely be dragged into the restructuring, and the cross-border nature of the case and it gets messy very quickly. It will surely put to the test the crossborder protocols and collaboration that have grown between Canadian and U.S. courts in important cases like MuscleTech, Abitibi, Nortel, and the thirdparty asset-backed commercial paper restructuring. By the same token, if there was ever a case that needed cross-border co-operation, MMA is it. Road to ruin The complexity started with the filings, which occurred only 30 days after the tragic event, an inordinately short period of time for such a complex case. Often, these types of filings are months in the making, allowing lawyers time to plan. There are two main proceedings. A Chapter 11 filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the state of Maine covers the U.S. operations, known as Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Ltd., a Delaware incorporated company with its head office in Hermon, Maine. The Companies' Creditors Arrangements Act filing in Quebec covers the Canadian operation, known as Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Canada Co., a Nova Scotia unlimited liability company with offices in Montreal and Farnham, Que. It is a subsidiary of MMA. The MMA railway system According to court filings, the companies operate an integrated short-line freight system that covers 510 miles of track in Maine, Vermont, and Quebec, which is a major part of the rail transportation net- work joining Northern Maine, Northern New England, Quebec, and New Brunswick. At the time of the event, it employed 179 people and had 15 trains daily run by 26 locomotives — servicing local manufacturers, moving paper, lumber chemicals, agricultural products, and most recently oil. It's a major artery for traffic from Maine to Montreal and Montreal to Saint John. The system also has strategic links to Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. The oil that exploded was being shipped to an Irving plant in Saint John for refinery and came by way of CP via North Dakota. World Fuel Services Corp., a fuel distribution company, shipped the oil. MMA collects most of the revenues generated by the system and transfers funds to MMA Canada to pay its expenses. Management costs are split 60 per cent for the U.S. operation and 40 per cent for Canada; each pays its own expenses. We had a spark right from the beginning. Your lawyer. Your law firm. Your business advisor. Untitled-4 1 www.ca na dia nl awy e r m a g . c o m / i n h o u s E december 2013/january 13-02-26 10:25 AM 2014 • 23

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