Mexico City. A U.S. Judge has approved a request from creditors of Tv Azteca, led by The New York Mellon, to file a motion for summary judgment against the television broadcaster. The judge also provisionally granted a suspension of the discovery process pending the outcome of that motion.
According to an order obtained by La Jornada, the request from the trustee, The New York Mellon, to suspend the discovery process is granted while Judge Paul G. Gardephe considers the summary judgment. This decision comes as Tv Azteca faces increasing scrutiny over its debt obligations.
“The requests of the trustee to submit a motion for summary judgment are granted. The trustee may request summary judgment as to some or all of the issues raised in its prior letters,” the document issued by Judge Moses states.
Creditors have until April 17 to present their arguments in a process currently scheduled to conclude with the submission of final documents by July 1, 2026. The ongoing legal proceedings reflect the complexities of cross-border debt disputes.
A summary judgment is an expedited procedure that does not require a full trial. Creditors’ attorneys have been seeking this approach since October, alleging delaying tactics by the television network. This move aims to accelerate the resolution of the financial claims.
Last Friday, Tv Azteca’s creditors alerted the court that they fear the broadcaster is making fraudulent transfers to conceal its assets amid alleged inaccuracies in filings and periods of silence. They claim the debt exceeds $600 million.
Creditors requested a response within a week, citing concerns that Tv Azteca’s handling of its bankruptcy proceedings in Mexico suggests further delaying tactics to avoid payment. The situation underscores the challenges of international bankruptcy proceedings.
Judge Moses is overseeing the discovery process, which currently involves a pair of letters rogatory submitted on November 24, 2025. Through these, Tv Azteca and its 34 affiliated companies are seeking to identify their creditors.
They are also requesting the dates and prices at which each bond was acquired, the expected returns for purchasers, and extrinsic evidence regarding the subjective understanding of the contracting parties – at the time of signing the Emission Agreement – of its terms.
The judge determined that “the information requested by the defendants is extensive, in fact, worldwide in scope,” and that “it would be more efficient to allow a motion for summary judgment now than to require the parties (and numerous third parties) to complete an extensive and costly fact and expert investigation before scheduling such a motion.”
Tv Azteca and the 34 affiliated companies under demand have indicated their intention to pursue an even broader discovery process. This suggests a potentially lengthy and complex legal battle ahead.
