Aceris Law has scored a significant victory for a Southeast Asian client, defeating USD 254 million in claims against a publicly-traded company in the petrochemical industry that threatened the continued existence of the company.
The complex dispute, which was resolved following 3 ½ years of SCC arbitration proceedings, notably concerned claims for delay penalties, claims for remedial works performed, contractual claims, and claims for back charges. Aceris Law’s client’s positive claims included, inter alia, claims for unpaid additional works performed, claims for unpaid invoices, and a claim for damages caused by the wrongful calling of bank guarantees.
Parallel court proceedings involving a preliminary injunction in aid of arbitration, as well as a parallel SCC arbitration, were involved. A number of contractual and legal issues under the law of a CIS country arose, which required recourse to experts on the law in question.
In addition to succeeding in defeating the vast majority of claims against its client following a nearly three-week hearing, Aceris Law’s client was partially successful in its positive claims, and it was awarded 50% of its costs of arbitration reflecting its relative success.
Aceris Law faced a highly competent multinational corporate law firm, relying on lawyers in the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
William Kirtley, Nina Jankovic, Isabela Monnerat Mendes and Anastasia Tzevelekou were the primary lawyers involved in this matter, with Nina Jankovic playing a key role, although they were assisted by other lawyers and trainees at Aceris Law.
“This was a make-or-break arbitration for our client,” noted William Kirtley of Aceris Law, “which faced existential consequences in the event of a negative ruling. Despite the fact that we charged less than 1/10th the amount of our highly skilled opposing counsel, as usual our client was largely victorious. We always try to offer an unbeatable bargain for the highest quality international arbitration legal representation, as Aceris Law was founded to address the primary complaint of clients regarding international arbitration, which is its cost, while always maintaining the highest standards. As is typical, we flew directly to our client’s premises in Southeast Asia to work with it on its case, while also holding frequent meetings via videoconference. Aceris Law regularly provides arbitration legal representation to clients in Asia, as well as to clients throughout Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East, South America and Oceania. Our goal is always to offer the highest quality international arbitration legal representation in the world, at a reasonable cost to our clients, while resolving every case in our clients’ interests.”
