Damien Granderson Law Practice

Beverly Hills and New York-based lawyer Damien Granderson, who helped defend the world’s biggest cyber attackers from charges in the United States, has won an arbitration case against a leading US credit rating agency. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) on Wednesday announced that Granderson Des Rochers LLP had won a 2017 case against Fitch Ratings Inc. in a dispute over its rating of one of Granderson’s clients. 

 

Damien Granderson is a managing partner of Granderson Des Rochers LLP in Los Angeles, which specializes in state and federal litigation. 

 

Background

 

The AAA had initially assigned a “BBB-/B” rating to the Australian dollar-denominated bonds of Infringement Insurance Group, one of Granderson’s clients, back in February 2017. The AAA changed the rating to “BBB-/B+” in December 2017 and it came into force on February 1, 2018 as Damien Granderso recalls. But Fitch Ratings Inc. said Fitch believed that Infringement Insurance Group had been misled by the AAA when it negotiated the bond deal and its decision to assign a “BBB-” rating was not reflective of Infringement Insurance Group’s creditworthiness. 

 

Fitch appealed the AAA’s decision to Granderson and the AAA responded by assigning an “A-” rating to Infringement Insurance Group’s bonds. 

 

Synopsis

 

The case highlights the role that ratings play in determining how much investors will get paid when they lend money to borrowers such as Infringement Insurance Group.  Damien Granderson states that the AAA argued that the ratings issued were fair and Fitch’s appeal was denied. 

The AAA’s decision is a significant victory for Granderson and his firm as it upholds his defense that the Infringement Insurance Group had not been misled by the AAA when it rated its bonds.