http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline International Arbitration Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2020 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) is silent about enforcement of arbitration agreements by nonsignatories, and so that is a "floor, not a ceiling, for enforcing arbitration agreements and awards," Shay Dvoretzky of Jones Day in Washington told the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 in oral arguments on behalf of a French company seeking to enforce an agreement that it did not sign on the basis of the doctrine of equitable estoppel (GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al., No. 18-1048, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Ukraine seeking review of an appellate court's affirmance of the denial of a motion to dismiss a petition to confirm a $112 million arbitral award issued to a Russian entity in a dispute over shares in a Ukrainian oil company (Ukraine v. Pao Tatneft, No. 19-606, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Heirs of two Saudi Arabian sheiks assert in a Jan. 16 appellant brief filed in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a district court committed reversible error when it dismissed the heirs' petition seeking to confirm a nearly $18 billion arbitration award against Chevron Corp. and Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (collectively, Chevron) in a dispute over Saudi oil fields because the lower court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to confirm a foreign arbitral award (Waleed Al-Qarqani, et al. v. Chevron Corporation, et al., No. 19-17074, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - In a Jan. 3 redacted reply brief, three petroleum companies tell the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a Texas federal judge's decision to confirm a $615.62 million arbitral award cannot stand because the underlying contract was procured through bribery in contravention of public policy (Petrobras America Inc., et al. v. Vantage Deepwater Co., et al., No. 19-20435, 5th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Jan. 6 filed a brief in opposition to a European creditor's motion for reconsideration of a Delaware federal judge's denial of its writ for attachment pursuing a foreign judgment, arguing that the judge correctly determined that the creditor's collateral estoppel argument is without merit (Oi European Group B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al., No. 19-mc-290, D. Del.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 7 affirmed a $62.9 million arbitration award after determining that the arbitration panel was fairly constituted and did not exceed its authority in entering a final award in a breach of contract dispute involving funding for a wind energy company (Soaring Wind Energy LLC v. Catic USA Inc., No. 18-11192, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 296). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on Dec. 18 awarded approximately $13 million to Malta and against the Republic of Sao Tome for the seizure of a vessel by Sao Tome after determining that Malta offered sufficient evidence in support of its argument that it is entitled to reparation for the vessel seizure (In the matter of the Duzgit Integrity Arbitration [Malta v. Sao Tome and Principe], No. 2014-07, PCA). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in a Jan. 9 unpublished per curiam opinion affirmed a district court's confirmation of an arbitral award, ruling that even though the arbitrator found, contrary to Texas law, that causation was required to prove unjust enrichment, the lapse did not rise to the level of "manifest disregard" that would justify vacatur of the award (Dynacolor Inc. v Razberi Technologies Inc., No. 19-10720, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 869). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - A former Celebrity Cruises Inc. employee who suffered a spinal cord injury while working on a cruise ship may recover nearly $10.6 million stemming from an arbitration award and post-award prejudgment interest, a federal judge in Florida held in a final judgment docketed Dec. 26, noting that interest on that amount will accrue until the final judgment is satisfied (Celebrity Cruises Inc. v. Slobodan Despot, No. 19-22890, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee on Jan. 7 rejected an application for annulment of an arbitration award issued in 2016 in a dispute over a Chilean newspaper seized in 1975, noting that although the confiscation may have been illegal under Chilean law, there is no way to repair the damages via international law (Victor Pey Casado, et al. and Republic of Chile, No. ARB/98/2, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PARIS - An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee on Dec. 12 denied an oil company's request to lift a stay on the enforcement of a $39.2 million award an ICSID tribunal previously ordered the nation of Kazakhstan to pay related to a terminated oil exploration contract, enforcement of which was stayed pending Kazakhstan's application to annul the award (Caratube International Oil Company LLP & Mr. Devincci Salah Hourani v. Republic of Kazakhstan, No. ARB/13/13, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - An insurer says in a Jan. 10 reply brief to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that a district court should have compelled arbitration in Hong Kong to resolve a claim for bad faith in failing to settle a lawsuit seeking damages for injuries that occurred during a cruise ship excursion (Lynn McCullough, et al. v. AIG Insurance Hong Kong Ltd., No. 19-12100, 11th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TACOMA, Wash. - The Convention on the Recognition of Foreign Arbitral Awards is not preempted by Washington law, a federal judge in Washington ruled Dec. 26, compelling arbitration of an insurance coverage dispute against English underwriters over $5.66 million in hurricane damage (CLMS Management Services Limited Partnership, et al. v. AmWins Brokerage of Georgia, LLC, et al., No. 19-05785, W.D. Wash., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 221122). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' RICHMOND, Va. - A Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 13 for the second time vacated and remanded a district court's grant of summary judgment to a debtor ordered to pay a civil judgment by an Iraqi court, finding that a genuine issue of material fact remains regarding whether the debtor defaulted his right to seek arbitration and, thus, the trial court's ruling would undermine principles of international comity (Iraq Middle Market Development Foundation v. Mohammad Ali Mohammad Harmoosh, et al., No.18-2212, 4th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1021). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - A federal judge in California on Jan. 13 declined to remand a breach of contract lawsuit to state court, finding that the agreement that was allegedly breached includes an arbitration clause that is within the scope of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and, therefore, the federal court has jurisdiction (Competent Software Pvt. Ltd. v. CoreLogic Solutions LLC, et al., No. 19-2161, C.D. Calif., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5621). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - A Delaware state court judge ruled Dec. 30 that a second arbitration between two oil companies over a contractual dispute was partly an "impermissible collateral attack" concerning a negligent misrepresentation claim in an earlier arbitration but held that breach of contract claims unresolved during the first arbitration were arbitrable (Gulf LNG Energy, LLC v. Eni USA Gas Mktg., No. 2019-0460-AGB, Del. Chanc., 2019 Del. Ch. LEXIS 1403). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - A Canadian gold producer in a Jan. 17 reply brief asks a Delaware federal to grant its request for a modification of a stay of its case against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela over a $1.2 billion international arbitration because Venezuela offers "out red herrings in the form of made-up conflicts with Executive Branch policy and Delaware law" (Crystallex International Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 17-mc-151, D. Del.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2018%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Islamic Republic of Pakistan filed a motion on Jan. 3 asking a U.S. federal court to stay enforcement of a $6 billion arbitral award it was ordered to pay a mining company over a denied copper and gold mining license, saying the court should wait while an arbitration annulment application is resolved or dismiss the federal case for lack of jurisdiction or lack of full faith and credit (Tethyan Copper Company Pty Limited v. Islamic Republic of Pakistan, No. 19-2424, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=35-1%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2019%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Chicago law firm on Dec. 30 filed a petition in Illinois federal court to confirm an arbitral award entered against a former client the firm represented in litigation against Wynn Resorts in Nevada for nonpayment of a contractually obligated $50 million contingency fee (Bartlit Beck LLP v. Kazuo Okada, No. 19-8508, N.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WILMINGTON, Del. - A federal judge in Delaware on Dec. 12 stayed a Canadian gold producer's case against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela over a $1.2 billion international arbitration award until the conclusion of any potential proceedings in the U.S. Supreme Court following an appellate court's affirming of a holding that a Delaware corporation is the alter ego of the republic (Crystallex International Corp. v. PDV Holding Inc., No. 15-cv-1082; Conocophillips Petrozuata B.V., et al. v. Petroleos De Venezuela S.A., et al., No. 16-cv-904; Crystallex International Corp. v. PDV Holding Inc., No. 16-cv-1007; Conocophillips Petrozuata B.V., et al. v. Petroleos De Venezuela S.A., et al., No. 17-cv-28; Crystallex International Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 17-mc-151; Saint Gobain Performance Plastics Europe v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al., No. 18-cv-1963; Oi European Group B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al., No. 19-cv-290; Oi European Group B.V. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al., No. 19-mc-290. D. Del., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214167). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A motion for sanctions and contempt filed by the foreign owners of two Republic of Kazakhstan companies whose rights to explore and develop oil and gas fields in Kazakhstan was canceled "is frivolous and filed in bad faith solely for the purpose of harassment," Kazakhstan argues in opposition filed Dec. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Anatolie Stati, et al. v. Republic of Kazakhstan, No. 14-1638, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should deny review of the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to affirm the denial of a motion to dismiss a petition to confirm a $112 million arbitral award issued to a Russian entity in a dispute over shares in a Ukrainian oil company because there is no split among the circuit courts regarding waiver of immunity by foreign sovereigns, the Russian entity maintains in a Nov. 26 response brief (Ukraine v. Pao Tatneft, No. 19-606, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on Dec. 16 confirmed an award by an American Arbitration Association (AAA) panel for the underwriters of an insurance policy for a yacht in a dispute over damages incurred in Panamanian waters, finding that the panel did not exceed its authority (Galilea, LLC, et al. v. AGCS Marine Insurance Company, et al., No. 19-5768, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217759). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal magistrate judge on Dec. 11 recommended that an $880,418.88 arbitration award in a dispute over a failed transport of shipment of road salt should be confirmed because the arbitration panel "acted within its authority" in construing the charter provisions and offered "a colorable justification" for the outcome (Pioneer Navigation Ltd. v. Chemical Equipment Labs, Inc., No. 19-02938, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214841). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - A federal judge in Florida on Dec. 17 granted an unopposed motion to reopen a case concerning a $14,829,243 arbitral award issued for an Australian environmental services firm after the plaintiffs notified the court that negotiations over a proposed settlement agreement with the defendants broke down due to a delay in appointing a personal representative for a deceased defendant (Cardno International PTY, Ltd., et al. v. Carlos Diego Fernando Jacome Merino, et al., No. 17-23964, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A tech company on Dec. 5 filed a petition in a New York federal court to enforce an arbitration subpoena issued to Google LLC seeking records related to an underlying arbitration dispute in which the company seeks damages from an India-based company it claims concealed the theft of its data (Consumer Software International, Inc. v. Google, LLC, No. 19-11164, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on Nov. 19 upheld an arbitration tribunal's finding in a mining ore dispute between the nation of Mongolia and three Chinese entities, ruling that the Chinese companies could not object to the tribunal's ability to determine arbitrability after initiating the seven-year arbitration and not raising the objection at any prior point (Beijing Shougang Mining Investment Company, Ltd., et al. v. Mongolia, No. 17-7436, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206072). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Republic of Guatemala on Dec. 4 appealed to the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals a ruling that ordered the republic to pay a holding company more than $35 million for an arbitration award and interest and more than $300,000 under an annulment award (TECO Guatemala Holdings, LLC v. Republic of Guatemala, No. 19-7153, D.C. Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Turkish company on Dec. 16 informed a District of Columbia federal judge that it reached an agreed-upon judgment of more than $27 million against the Gabonese Republic and a government agency in a breach of contract dispute over construction work (Enka Insaat Ve Sanayi A.S. v. The Gabonese Republic, et al., No. 18-2458, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - An Arizona association of cotton growers filed a complaint and petition on Dec. 13 in a California federal court asking the court to confirm a $3.28 million arbitration award ordered in 2018 by the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) against an Indian company in a trademark dispute (Supima v. Tradeline Enterprises Pvt., Ltd., No. 19-10568, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A U.S. couple on Dec. 3 filed a petition in District of Columbia federal court seeking to a vacate an arbitral award issued under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) that rejected jurisdiction in their dispute with the Dominican Republic over what they claim was the expropriation of their investment in a planned luxury resort (Lisa Ballantine, et al. v. the Dominican Republic, No. 1:19-cv-03598, D. D.C., 2019). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - A Florida federal judge on Nov. 26 recommended denying motions to dismiss filed by a shareholder in a wine distribution company's service in Brazil and one of the shareholder's related companies after determining that the company seeking to collect on a $28.7 million arbitration award adequately alleged claims in a supplemental complaint for alter ego and fraudulent transfer against the defendants (EGI-VSR, LLC v. Juan Carlos Celestino Coderch Mitjans, No. 15-20098, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' By Elizabeth Edmondson and Allison Douglis Introduction In the 1989 decision of Volt Information Sciences, Inc. v. Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University, the United States Supreme Court held that, though the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") pre-empts state laws to the extent of any conflicts, it does not "prevent enforcement" of state rules where "parties have chosen in their agreement to abide by the state rules of arbitration."1 Perhaps more controversially, the Supreme Court declined to disturb the decision of the intermediate California court that the relevant contract's generic choice-of-law clause sufficed, as a matter of California law, to incorporate the California rules of arbitration into the contract.2 The Court based its reasoning on the assertion that "the interpretation of private contracts is ordinarily a question of state law, which this Court does not sit to review."3 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-12%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' Mealey's International Arbitration Report recently asked industry experts and leaders for their thoughts on the most significant development in international arbitration in 2019. We would like to thank the following individuals for sharing their thoughts on this important issue: http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) prohibit courts from compelling arbitration between parties who have no agreement in writing, a steel plant operator and insurers argue in a respondent brief filed Nov. 22 in the U.S. Supreme Court (GE Energy Power Conversion France SAS, Corp. v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, et al., No. 18-1048, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should accept review of an arbitration dispute between two Indian brothers who manufactured incense products to clarify whether one of the brother's right to stay litigation under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) is conditioned on the right to compel arbitration, the brother argues in a Nov. 12 petition for writ of certiorari (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya LLP et al., v. Balkrishna Setty et al., No. 19-623, U.S. Sup., 2019 U.S. S. CT. BRIEFS LEXIS 6567). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should review the District of Columbia U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to affirm the denial of a motion to dismiss a petition to confirm a $112 million arbitral award issued to a Russian entity in a dispute over shares in a Ukrainian oil company because the decision is not consistent with the decisions of other circuits regarding waiver of immunity by foreign sovereigns, Ukraine says in a Nov. 8 petition for writ of certiorari (Ukraine v. Pao Tatneft, No. 19-606, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Hungary violated an agreement between the United Kingdom and Hungary by expropriating British farming professionals' vested statutory prelease rights to Hungarian agricultural land and awarding the leases to third parties in January 2014 without compensation, an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal ruled in an award published Nov. 13 (Magyar Farming Company Ltd., et al. v. Hungary, No. ARB/17/27, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee on Oct. 25 dismissed an application for annulment filed by Capital Financial Holdings Luxembourg S.A. (CFHL) after a divided tribunal declined jurisdiction over the company's claim against the Republic of Cameroon alleging that its investment in a Cameroon bank was expropriated, finding that there was no showing that the tribunal exceeded its power (Capital Financial Holdings Luxembourg S.A. v. Republic of Cameroon, No. ARB/15/18, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Italian companies seeking additional pay for a road project from the Republic of Mozambique successfully showed that the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) had jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings but failed to show that they were owed an additional 8,220,888 euros for the completed work, that they reached a settlement agreement with Mozambique or that they were entitled to any damages, an ICSID tribunal ruled Oct. 29 (CMC Muratori Cementisti, et al. and Republic of Mozambique, No. ARB/17/23, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Nov. 18 found that it lacked jurisdiction to decide a dispute over a South African national's interests in contractual arrangements with two Mozambican state-owned entities for the conduct of a joint fishing venture in the Republic of Mozambique and that each party is responsible to bear its share of the costs of arbitration in the total amount of $489,929.26 (Oded Besserglik v. Republic of Mozambique, No. ARB[AF]/14/2, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 21 denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc, leaving in place a holding that a Delaware corporation is the alter ego of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in an international arbitration dispute (Crystallex International Corp. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al., Nos. 18-2797 and 18-3124, 3rd Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a Nov. 4 order, a federal judge in the District of Columbia ordered the Republic of Guatemala to pay a holding company in accordance with an arbitration award issued by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in December 2013 more than $35 million for the award and interest and more than $300,000 in accordance with an April 2016 annulment award (TECO Guatemala Holdings, LLC v. Republic of Guatemala, No. 17-102, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - A New York federal judge on Nov. 8 confirmed only $323,327.58 of an alleged $973,514.58 arbitration award to a hockey player agency because the award does not make any findings regarding any amounts owed for possible future commissions of players being represented by another hockey agency (Professional Sport Service FI OY v. Puck Agency LLC, No. 19-5904, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196192). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A New York appeals panel on Oct. 24 affirmed a lower court's confirmation of an arbitral award issued in favor of a Delaware information technology company concerning software upgrade work done in four phases for a Canadian software company because the arbitrator "gave a colorable justification for the outcome reached" (Nexia Health Technologies, Inc. v. Miratech, Inc., No. 10194, 654151/18, N.Y. Sup., App. Div., 1st Dept., 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7696). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia federal judge confirmed on Oct. 17 a foreign arbitration award against the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic but ordered briefing on the application of case law to whether the award should be confirmed against the Kyrgyz Republic (Entes Industrial Plants, Construction and Erection Contracting Co. Inc. v. The Kyrgyz Republic, et al., No. 18-2228, D. D.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179473). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A seaman who was injured while working on a ship in Louisiana failed to prove that a forum-selection clause designating England as the forum to arbitrate disputes is unreasonable and unenforceable, a Louisiana federal judge said Nov. 21 in granting the insurer's motion to compel arbitration and to stay the seaman's negligence suit (Ronald Havard v. Offshore Specialty Fabricators LLC, No. 14-824, E.D. La., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 201884). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal on Oct. 29 refused to disqualify an Argentine Republic national from being a member of an ad-hoc committee to decide a data services provider's application to annul an award issued in favor of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in relation to the revocation of a license to provide wireless data services (Italba Corp. v. Oriental Republic of Uruguay, No. ARB/16/9, ICSID). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 12 affirmed an order granting summary judgment to The Boeing Co. and its subsidiary on their breach of contract claim brought under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) with regard to a failed joint venture, as well as the denial of a motion to stay in favor of a Swedish arbitration (The Boeing Co., et al. v. KB Yuzhnoye, et al., No. 18-55283, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33696). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2016%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - Del Monte International GMBH argues in a Nov. 1 reply brief to a Florida federal court that a Costa Rican entity and its officers should pay a compensatory fine of $16,373,684 for violations of an arbitration award over a pineapple seed agreement (Inversiones y Procesadora Tropical INPROTSA, S.A. v. Del Monte International GmbH, No. 16-24275, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2017%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two companies from Portugal and Luxembourg on Nov. 5 asked a District of Columbia federal court to issue a default judgment against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for failing to respond to their petition to confirm a $233,975,416 arbitral award issued in their favor (Tenaris S.A, et al. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, No. 18-1373, D. D.C.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2018%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MIAMI - A federal judge in Florida on Oct. 30 issued an order administratively closing a case concerning a $14,829,243 arbitral award issued for an Australian environmental services firm after the plaintiffs notified the court that they are finalizing a settlement agreement with the defendants (Cardno International PTY, Ltd., et al. v. Carlos Diego Fernando Jacome Merino, et al., No. 17-23964, S.D. Fla.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2019%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A federal judge in New York on Oct. 17 granted an injunction sought by petitioners seeking to sell Mexican subsidiaries to third parties after the original buyer allegedly breached their contract, finding that an ex parte injunction the buyer obtained stopping the sale affected the arbitration proceedings to which both sides agreed (Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.A.R.L., et al. v. Accendo Banco, S.A., No. 19-8692, S.D. N.Y., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 180275). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2020%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHARLESTON, S.C. - A South Carolina federal judge on Oct. 22 granted a motion to compel arbitration in a builders risk insurance dispute and transferred a suit against insurers to New York federal court after determining that the insurance policy's arbitration provision mandates that any dispute under the policy proceed to arbitration in New York (Kiawah Island Utility Inc., v. Westport Insurance Corp. et al., No. 19-1359, D. S.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182220). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2021%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Oct. 18 released its annual report, highlighting its activities from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2022%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' By David Lee and Mehreen Siddiqui The Cayman Islands has a comprehensive framework through which a judgment creditor may seek to enforce, and ultimately execute an international arbitration award.1 In many cases, the enforcement and execution of an international award will be a quick and straightforward process using the procedure of this creditor-friendly jurisdiction. However, for high-value, hard-fought multi-jurisdictional enforcement exercises, it will not always be such smooth sailing. We highlight below the need for a dynamic enforcement strategy, often involving both onshore and offshore Counsel, and suggest practical tips for ensuring success. We also outline potential execution methods that may be deployed to successfully realise assets. Enforcement framework http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=34-11%20Mealey%27s%20Intl.%20Arb.%20Rep.%2023%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' By Elizabeth Edmondson and Jacob Tracer (Complete version of commentary with table available. Document #05-191126-199X.) Introduction