Dynegy Inc., cast by Enron Corp. as the villain in its bankruptcy filing, has aggressively countered every move by its former rival, and Thursday filed a motion requesting the bankruptcy case be moved to Houston, where both of the companies are headquartered. Dynegy, facing a $10 billion breach of contract lawsuit that Enron incorporated into its bankruptcy proceedings on Dec. 2, filed papers with New York Judge Arthur Gonzalez, noting that Enron’s decision to file in the Southern District of New York was “a classic example of the type of forum shopping that should not be condoned.”

In court papers, Dynegy said Houston was a more appropriate location because it met the standards of being closer to Enron’s operations, assets, creditors and witnesses and would be less costly to administer where it was based. Dynegy may claim standing to oppose the venue as a defendant in the lawsuit. In its bankruptcy filing, Enron laid the blame on Dynegy for pulling out of a $9 billion offer to merge (see Daily GPI, Dec. 4).

Enron was allowed to file in New York even though most of its headquarters operations are in Houston because affiliate Enron Metals & Commodity Corp., one of 13 that also filed for bankruptcy, met the requirement of having “its principal place of business and its principal assets in New York.”

“In this time of reduced frequency and increased cost of airline travel…the costs to both creditors and the debtors in terms of both time and money will be astronomical if these cases remain in the Southern District of New York,” Dynegy wrote in its motion. Dynegy also write that Enron’s “litigation strategy seems to be the backbone of the debtors’ reorganization tactics.” Gonzalez will consider Dynegy’s motion on January 7.

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