Washington, October 23 (teleSUR-RHC)-- A U.S. judge ruled on Thursday in favor of a group of so-called vulture funds against Argentina.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa determined that Argentina had to treat bondholders in 15 different lawsuits the same as another set of debt holdouts who earlier secured a U.S. court ruling for $1.33 billion in payments from Buenos Aires.

The new creditors hold around $234 million in defaulted Argentine bonds, according to Reuters.

While lawyers for the creditors have welcomed the ruling, Argentina is yet to respond. However, in the past Argentina has dismissed such rulings in U.S. courts as a violation of its sovereignty. The government has vowed not to cave to the so-called vultures, which purchased defaulted Argentine bonds at pennies on the dollar before demanding full repayment.

On three occasions, Griesa's rulings in favor of vulture funds have been rejected by the New York Court of Appeals. On August 10, a judge ruled that damages for bondholders have to be pursued individually, not as part of collective judicial action. And earlier this month a court rejected a demand that the New York Bank of Mellon use US$539 million of Argentine assets to pay the country's holdout creditors.

Earlier this week, meanwhile, the front-runner in Argentina's presidential race, Daniel Scioli, echoed the current administration’s position on vulture funds. Most of Argentina's past creditors have agreed to settlements with the government.

Scioli, outlining his economic policies in a speech Monday, said he will continue the fight for “a world without vultures” and would try to meet obligations with 100 percent of Argentina’s creditors under “fair, equal and legal” terms. Argentina, he said, has proven it can access multi-lateral lending without paying hold-out U.S. hedge funds what they have been demanding. “The position of Argentina is very clear,” he said.