J.C. Penney Co Inc (JCP.N) filed a lawsuit on Monday asking a Delaware judge to declare that it is not in a default of its bond agreements, protecting nearly $3 billion of debt from being due in the coming months.

The lawsuit was filed after J.C. Penney received a letter earlier on Monday from the Brown Rudnick law firm which said the retailer had breached a covenant of a bond indenture agreement by granting a lien on its inventory, according to the complaint which was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery.