Ascend Performance Creditors Move to Upend Lender Lien Claims

Creditors of bankrupt chemical manufacturer Ascend Performance Materials Holdings Inc. asked for standing to sue company lenders to challenge purportedly perfected liens on a broad range of assets.

Real estate, patents, vehicles and certain bank accounts should be deemed assets of the estate available for distribution to all creditors, an official committee of unsecured creditors said in a filing Monday with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The group is also disputing liens on commercial tort claims in excess of $60 million, $648 million in intercompany notes, and equity in Ascend’s foreign subisidiaries.

A committee investigation ...