I tend to agree that Citigroup has the better argument, but this is weirdly lopsided coverage. Revlon's bank repaid Revlon's loan using money Revlon didn't have. Oops! But that's not clearly a reason for the lender to return the repaid loan.
What happens if I pay one of my bills and realize later that it would be more convenient for me to have paid less so I'd have more money for whatever else? How do I claw back the amount I now wish I hadn't paid?
I feel it’s relevant that Revelon’s loan hadn’t actually come due yet.
I think it’s also relevant that Citigroup didn’t send Revelon’s money, they sent Citigroup’s money. “Somebody at Citigroup owes us, so any money coming from that general direction is ours” feels pretty flimsy to me.
It’s also relevant that Revelon is not looking so healthy, and is widely expected to go into bankruptcy protection before repaying Brigade.
But I think Brigade’s math is pretty easy here - gambling a 15 million on lawyers for even a small chance to (effectively) make 175,000 million might be a good bet.
When you work in a company and pay a supplier, you don't get to chase the supplier and ask for refund saying you cut a check from the wrong company account. This is down to your company, it's your company problem.
If I overpaid a contractor by mistake, I don’t think that contractor should get to keep my money under the logic that somebody else who uses the same bank also owed that contractor money.
You're half right. They sent it by accident.
Citigroup, Revlon and Bridage certainly have long complicated contracts on that loan, that should cover what to do. Well, I really hope they thought of covering the basics while drafting a billion dollar loan.
I think the point about it being money Revlon didn't have is important. The money came from the bank's accounts, not Revlon's. The owner of that account (Citigroup) had no debt owed to Brigade, so I don't think the bill pay analogy is quite apt. This seems like nothing more than an accidental transfer, which happens all the time and are always reversed.