Dispute Resolution · International Trade Transactions
Representation of a Chinese Contractor
Successful representation of a Chinese shipbuilding company as defendant before Russian courts at several instances in a dispute with a Russian customer.
Solution
The claimant brought unfounded claims for the recovery of multimillion-ruble penalties and damages allegedly arising from delays in the repair of a sea vessel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An effective litigation strategy was developed together with the client’s Chinese legal counsellors to substantiate the adjustment of the completion dates due to an increase in the scope of work under the customer’s additional orders and to establish the existence of force majeure circumstances related to measures adopted by the PRC authorities to combat the spread of COVID-19.
The case involved submission of Chinese regulatory acts (evidence inspection reports), a CCPIT force majeure certificate and notarized translations of relevant documents.
Result
As a result, the court dismissed the claims against the Chinese company. All communications with the client were conducted in English.