Except that recent events regarding Citigroups incorrect $900M payout on the Revlon bond shows that in fact grown up finance will sometimes say, actually, the law is the law and the contract doesn't cover this, so thanks for the money.
This was a case where the bond holders did have some claim to the money, but it was clearly an error.
> This was a case where the bond holders did have some claim to the money, but it was clearly an error.
You refer to recent events, and I don't know how recent, so maybe I missed something; but my understanding was that the finding was that it was reasonable for Revlon to believe when they received the fund that it was a legitimate payment, not just an error. Of course in retrospect (e.g., when Citigroup calls and says so!) it is clear that it was an error, but the legal argument, whether or not you buy its truth, was that it was not clear at the time. I think that this sort of finding in which both grown-up financiers decide not to be chummy about misplaced funds, and the law sides with them in not requiring them to do so, is comparatively rare.
I'm a little foggy on details, but I remember reading that the bond holders had been kind of mistreated before all this. Something to do with reorganizing or splitting off valuable parts of the company. The bond holders weren't too happy as it was beginning to look like they might not get their money back. So it makes sense why they would not be quick to cooperate and return what they initially thought were early payments.
https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1443738002065268736