Mealey's International Arbitration : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's International Arbitration

August 09, 2024
Applying New Precedent, 11th Circuit Affirms $188M Award Against Venezuelan Entity

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Aug. 8 affirmed the confirmation of an arbitral award worth roughly $188 million against a Venezuelan iron ore producer based on different reasoning, finding that the award should be confirmed on the merits despite the fact the lower court erred under new precedent by barring the Venezuelan company from presenting a public policy defense.
August 09, 2024
Motion To Confirm $166.6M Arbitral Award Granted To Dutch Insolvency Practitioners

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal judge on Aug. 8 granted a motion filed by Dutch insolvency practitioners for a Dutch insurer in liquidation to confirm a Dutch tribunal’s arbitral award and judgment, which converts from euros to $166,600,942, finding that the respondents, a former owner of insolvent insurers and his related companies, failed to establish “any grounds for a refusal to confirm the award.”
August 09, 2024
3rd Circuit Affirms Refusal To Confirm $1M CIETAC Award Against Nonsignatory

PHILADELPHIA — A Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Aug. 8 affirmed the denial of a Chinese company’s petition to confirm a China International Economic and Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) arbitral award worth nearly $1 million against a Pennsylvania company for a dispute over a flooring contract, writing that the lower court correctly refused enforcement against a nonsignatory to the underlying contract.
August 08, 2024
Kurdistan Government Says Dubai Lender’s $500M Claim Was Rejected By ICSID Tribunal

NEW YORK — The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) filed a motion in New York federal court to dismiss a Dubai-based investment company’s complaint against it seeking to enforce a $500 million Kuwaiti judgment, arguing that the company was previously found to have “relinquished” any claim to the loan at issue during a separate International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) proceeding before seeking to enforce it in Kuwait.
August 07, 2024
Canadian Investor Says Tribunal Wrongly Dismissed 87M Euro Claim Against Serbia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Aug. 6 published a Canadian investor’s memorial arguing for partial annulment of a tribunal’s 14.5 million euro award in his favor on claims against the Republic of Serbia for seizing his shares in a dairy farm investment, asserting that the tribunal wrongly dismissed his claim for indirect holdings worth 87.5 million euros, failed to state reasons for certain findings and applied improper reasoning to its valuation decisions.
August 07, 2024
Reversal Of $1.3B Award In Indian Satellite Row ‘No Outlier,’ High Court Told

WASHINGTON D.C. — An Indian state-owned corporation in an Aug. 6 opposition brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to deny two petitions for writs of certiorari regarding the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ reversal on jurisdictional grounds of a $1.3 billion arbitral award, arguing that the decision is “no outlier” and not worthy of high court review.
August 07, 2024
Judge Confirms PCA Award, Enters $111M Default Judgment Against Ghana

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Aug. 6 granted a motion for default judgment and confirmed a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) tribunal’s award against the government of the Republic of Ghana worth $111 million for abruptly terminating a Singaporean company’s gas turbine contract.
August 07, 2024
Magistrate Recommends Denial Of Discovery Assistance To Shanghai Arbitral Tribunal

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas federal magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation saying that a judge should grant reconsideration and vacate an order granting a Chinese manufacturer’s ex parte application for court assistance in obtaining discovery for an arbitration against a marketing consultant in China, writing that the “private arbitration” falls outside the governing discovery statute.
August 05, 2024
English Justice Refuses South Korea’s Bid To Set Aside $48.5M Award

LONDON — A justice of the High Court of England and Wales denied the Republic of Korea’s application to set aside a Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) arbitral award against it worth more than $48.5 million in favor of an American investment entity, rejecting its arguments that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim but granting Korea permission to appeal.
August 05, 2024
Canadian Airline Asks Court To Enforce $25M Award Against Venezuela

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Canadian airline filed a petition to confirm an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) arbitral award in its favor worth more than $25 million against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for harming its investment in a Venezuelan subsidiary and affiliated baggage handling services.
August 02, 2024
ICSID Publishes No-Damages Award In Mining Company Claim Against Colombia

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Aug. 1 published a split tribunal’s award finding that the Republic of Colombia breached its treaty obligations to a Canadian precious metals exploration company, ordering Colombia to indemnify the company from certain taxation liabilities but declining to award damages for the breach.
August 02, 2024
Mexico Asks ICSID To Bifurcate Supplement Maker’s $2.7B Land Expropriation Claim

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published the United Mexican States’ request that a tribunal bifurcate a Michigan-based company’s claim for $2.7 billion in damages based on the alleged expropriation of its Mexican farmland, writing that the claims are procedurally improper and time-barred under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
August 01, 2024
Split Tribunal Dismisses Part Of Canadian Bank’s $100M Claim Against Peru

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published a split tribunal’s decision granting in part and denying in part the Republic of Peru’s application for an early dismissal of a Canadian bank’s claims against it for causing more than $100 million in damages to its subsidiary, finding that some of the claims are outside the scope of a treaty.
August 01, 2024
ICSID Awards Panama $1.5M In Fees After Dismissing Biofuel Investor’s Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) published a tribunal’s award ordering a biofuel investor to pay the Republic of Panama roughly $1.5 million in attorney fees and arbitration costs after dismissing the investor’s claims for lack of jurisdiction because it failed to prove that it is controlled by Italian investors, noting that the investor “unreasonably delayed” proceedings with “untimely and unjustified requests.”
July 31, 2024
D.C. Circuit Remands Reinsurer’s Bid To Enforce $33M Awards Against Argentina

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 30 remanded a reinsurer’s appeal to the lower court for “further analysis and factfinding” as to whether the court had jurisdiction over its petition to enforce two arbitral awards worth $33 million against the Republic of Argentina under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).
July 31, 2024
Split D.C. Circuit Reverses $541M Award Against Djibouti Over ‘Attorney Authority’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Finding that a lower court did not sufficiently examine whether an award-creditor’s counsel was properly authorized to represent it, a split District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 30 reversed the confirmation of a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitral award worth more than $541 million against the Republic of Djibouti in a dispute over control of a container terminal.
July 29, 2024
Canadian Investor Seeks Annulment Of 14.5M Euro Award After Co-Claimants Withdraw

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on July 26 published a tribunal’s order taking note of the discontinuance of annulment proceedings by several claimants whose claims were dismissed by the merits tribunal for lack of jurisdiction. One applicant, a Canadian investor who partly prevailed on his claims against the Republic of Serbia for the seizure of his shares in a dairy farm investment, will continue to seek annulment alone.
July 29, 2024
Court Violated Due Process In Sandwich Shop Arbitration, Canadian Company Says

NEW YORK — A company that served as Canadian agent for the Subway sandwich shop franchise filed a motion in New York federal court to alter or amend a judge’s ruling confirming an arbitrator’s award requiring it to make ongoing payments under a terminated contract pending the outcome of a 70 million Canadian dollars arbitration, arguing that the judge did not give it a chance to respond to the arbitrators’ recent rulings.
July 26, 2024
Judge Refuses To Vacate Swiss Award In Medical Contract Dispute

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge refused a motion to vacate two arbitral awards issued against three companies by a tribunal seated in Geneva in a dispute over the development of a nuclear medicine camera, after finding that no jurisdiction exists to vacate an arbitral award outside the primary jurisdiction where the award was issued.
July 26, 2024
Court Confirms $194M Award Against Djibouti In Favor Of Dubai Port Investor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal judge adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation in full and granted a petition to confirm a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) arbitral award against the Republic of Djibouti for harming a Dubai-based port investor by canceling its contract and seizing an African container terminal on the Red Sea.
July 22, 2024
Kazakhstan, Moldovan Investors Settle Arbitral Feud As Judge Compels Subpoenas

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted in part two Moldovan investors and their companies’ motion to compel responses from a banking entity in support of enforcement of an arbitral award against Kazakhstan worth more than $500 million, as reports say the parties reached a settlement of the long-running feud.
July 22, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms Denial Of Section 1782 Discovery To ICSID Dispute

NEW YORK — The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on July 19 affirmed a ruling quashing an Italian company’s subpoena seeking discovery for use before an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal, writing that the federal statute governing discovery in assistance of foreign courts does not apply to ad hoc ICSID tribunals under recent U.S Supreme Court precedent.
July 22, 2024
Judge Says Award-Debtor’s Wife Owes $217K To Satisfy CIETAC Award

BOSTON — A Massachusetts federal judge ordered a sightseeing balloon company owner’s wife to pay more than $217,000 to a Chinese company to satisfy a Chinese International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) arbitral award after finding that the owner transferred assets to his wife to evade enforcement of the award.
June 27, 2024
COMMENTARY: Prague Rules Six Years After Their Publication: Where Are We Now?

By Andrew Tetley and Diana Stekhnovych