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

Mealey's International Arbitration

March 20, 2025
Judge Remands Reinsurance Dispute After Finding No Foreign Arbitration Agreement

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal judge on March 19 adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and remanded a reinsurance dispute to state court as the defendant international reinsurers who sought removal under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) failed to establish that the relevant parties entered a binding arbitration agreement.
March 20, 2025
11th Circuit Turns Away Appeal Of Arbitration Refusal In Chinese EB-5 Visa Dispute

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 19 dismissed an appeal of a Florida federal court order refusing to compel arbitration of a Chinese investor’s claims related to an EB-5 visa and real estate investment fraud and remanding the suit to state court, writing that the Circuit Court lacks jurisdiction over such appeals.
March 19, 2025
Real Estate Investors Can’t Revive Claims Against Czech Republic, ICSID Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on March 18 published an ad hoc committee’s decision rejecting an application by a Swiss company and its Czech subsidiary to annul an award dismissing their claims against the Czech Republic for harming their Prague real estate investment, finding the tribunal considered and rejected their arguments that a local mayor canceled a rezoning plan as “‘revenge’” after the claimants refused her demand for additional payments.
March 18, 2025
Subrogees Must Arbitrate $28M Algerian Turbine Claim, 11th Circuit Says

ATLANTA — An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on March 18 affirmed an order compelling arbitration of a dispute over approximately $28 million in damages to an Algerian power plant caused by a turbine failure, finding that insurers, reinsurers and retrocessionaires are subrogees of the plant-owner and therefore bound by an arbitration agreement in a services contract with entities that manufactured the turbine.
March 12, 2025
Tribunal Dismisses Georgia’s Bid For Quick Dismissal Of Railway Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on March 11 published a tribunal’s order dismissing Georgia’s request for dismissal prior to briefing of claims brought against it by a U.S. businessman and his Georgian company, saying the request involves “significant jurisdictional issues” that cannot be resolved through the process invoked by Georgia.
March 10, 2025
Judge Enters $2.8M Judgment In Japan Energy Row After Debtor Withdraws Opposition

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge confirmed an arbitral award and entered judgment worth more than $2.8 million against a Japanese energy company for failure to return collateral to a U.S. company after the Japanese company terminated its counsel and withdrew opposition to the petition, and also granted in part the petitioner’s application for attorney fees but awarded roughly $78,000 less than the petitioner sought after finding its hourly rates “unreasonably high.”
March 06, 2025
Investor Sues Colombia For Payment Of $10.5M Award In Nickel Mining Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A British investor filed a petition in District of Columbia federal court to recognize and enforce an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) award in its favor worth more than $10.5 million against the Republic of Colombia for harming its nickel mining investment by changing applicable royalty rates, writing that Colombia has paid only a small part of the damages it owes.
March 06, 2025
Judge Confirms $1.7M Award For Submarine Cable Survey Contract Dispute

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted a Barbadian company’s petition to confirm an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award in its favor worth more than $1.5 million against two entities for failure to make required payments under a submarine cable route surveying contract.
March 04, 2025
ICSID Tribunal Rejects Honduras’ Objection To Island City Investors’ $10B Claim

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) tribunal rejected the Republic of Honduras’ preliminary objection to a claim brought against it for $10.7 billion in damages by several U.S. companies that invested in a chartered island city in a Honduran special economic zone, finding that the investors were not required under the applicable investment treaty to exhaust local litigation remedies before bringing an arbitration claim.
March 04, 2025
9th Circuit Vacates Confirmation Of Chinese Loan Dispute Award Worth $5.5M

PASADENA, Calif. — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel vacated a ruling enforcing a Beijing Arbitration Commission (BAC) award worth approximately $5.5 million against two individuals who allegedly guaranteed a loan that was never properly repaid, writing that the lower court didn’t make proper findings of fact as to the guarantors’ improper notice and forgery defenses.
March 03, 2025
Justices Hear Jurisdiction Debated In $1.3B Arbitral Dispute Over Indian Satellite

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 heard oral arguments by an Indian company, its shareholders and subsidiary, an Indian state-owned company and the United States in a dispute over reversal on jurisdictional grounds of a $1.3 billion arbitral award, with some justices asking if newly raised arguments, including whether a foreign state is a person for purposes of the due process clause, require remand.
March 03, 2025
High Court Lets Stand Ruling That Nixed Bid To Dismiss Peruvian Lead Injury Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on March 3 denied review of a case in which American companies that operate a lead smelter in Peru sought review of an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling that upheld a district court’s refusal to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Catholic clergywomen and Peruvian children who allege they have been injured by the smelter.
February 26, 2025
English Judge Denies Permission To Appeal In Reinsurance Dispute

LONDON — Saying in part that he doesn’t think an appeal of a final antiarbitration injunction has a “realistic” chance of succeeding, a judge of the High Court of England and Wales denied a reinsurer’s application in a contractual construction case that involves a hierarchy or “confusion” clause; he also weighed in on several disputes regarding costs that the reinsurer will have to pay.
February 18, 2025
COMMENTARY: Don’t Predict The Future, Create It – Arbitration Trends And Projections For 2025

By Andreas Dracoulis, Fiona Cain and Zainab Al-Qaimi
February 24, 2025
ICSID Tribunal Rejects U.S., U.K. Shipping Companies’ Claims Against Albania

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on Feb. 21 published a tribunal’s award in which it found jurisdiction over the claims of three out of four shipping companies that had accused Albania of harming their investments in an Albanian port but rejected all claims on the merits, ordering the claimants to pay Albania $370,542.55 and 1,583,512 euros in attorney fees and arbitration costs.
February 24, 2025
Magistrate Says Plaintiffs Didn’t Agree To Arbitrate With Foreign Reinsurers

NEWARK, N.J. — A New Jersey federal magistrate judge recommended remanding a reinsurance dispute to state court, writing that defendant international reinsurers who contended that the suit was removable under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention) failed to establish that the relevant parties entered a binding arbitration agreement.
February 20, 2025
Singapore Court Freezes Bioscience Company’s Assets Pending $830M Arbitration

SINGAPORE — A judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court granted an ex parte application by a Danish company brought against a Singaporean bioscience company and its founder for a worldwide asset freeze pending arbitration in New York regarding an $830 million dispute over a drug for hypertension and kidney disease.
February 20, 2025
Judge Recognizes $124M English Judgment Against Ukrainian Businessman

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted two U.S. investors’ motion for summary judgment and, applying state law, recognized a judgment of the High Court of England and Wales confirming a London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) award worth more than $124 million against a Ukrainian fruit investor.
February 20, 2025
Court Enters Default Judgment In $13M Albanian Oilfield Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia granted an Australian entity’s motion for default judgment confirming an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) arbitral award worth nearly $13 million against Albanian government agencies and an Albanian company for a dispute over the imposition of new taxes on oil sales and production from three oilfields.
February 19, 2025
Judge Grants Liberian Companies’ Motion To Displace Prior Counsel

NEW YORK — A New York federal judge granted a motion by Liberian affiliates of a shipping company under new ownership to displace its prior law firm and order previous counsel to turn over case files to the affiliates’ new counsel in an ongoing row over enforcement of a JAMS arbitral award for a contract dispute with a British Virgin Islands (BVI) investment company.
February 19, 2025
Action To Enforce $21M Award Against Guinea Dismissed For Lack Of Jurisdiction

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia judge on Feb. 18 granted the republic of Guinea’s motion to set aside default entered against it and to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction a telecommunications company’s action to enforce an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) award worth than $21 million after finding that Guinea was not a party to the underlying arbitration agreement.
February 19, 2025
Latvian Crab Investors Say ICSID Tribunal Spent ‘Insufficient’ Time On Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Latvian businessman and his crab fishing company argue in a memorial to an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ad hoc committee that it is “impossible” the tribunal that rejected their claims against the Kingdom of Norway spent sufficient time adjudicating the matter and that the tribunal improperly applied international law as barring certain allegations involving other states.
February 14, 2025
Magistrate Recommends Denying Guatemala’s Bid To Dismiss Construction Awards

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A District of Columbia federal magistrate judge on Feb. 13 recommended denying the Republic of Guatemala’s motion to dismiss a petition to confirm three arbitral awards against it for construction disputes with a Guatemalan company, writing that its arguments including that the construction company filed suit under the wrong treaty are all without merit.
February 13, 2025
English Appeals Court Says Russia Estopped From Denying Arbitration Agreement

LONDON — A panel of the English Court of Appeal on Feb. 12 affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the doctrine of issue estoppel bars the Russian Federation from arguing it is immune from an action to enforce an arbitral award against it worth more than $50 billion because it never agreed to arbitrate, writing that the previous rejection of that argument by an appellate court in the jurisdiction where the award was issued has preclusive effect.
February 13, 2025
United States To Join Arguments Over $1.3B Arbitral Award In Indian Satellite Row

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 12 granted the United States’ motion for leave to participate in upcoming oral arguments regarding whether the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals properly reversed a $1.3 billion arbitral award against an Indian state-owned corporation on jurisdictional grounds and allowed a request for divided argument among petitioners in the consolidated cases.