Lawyers of Arzinger & Partners (Kyiv) secure victory for Prominvestbank in Commercial Court of London8 September 2008. The Dispute Resolution Team of Arzinger & Partners (Ukraine) has successfully represented Prominvestbank in the case of Sea Emerald SA vs. Prominvestbank in The High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court in London, England, securing a hard-fought victory in a dispute that has been under consideration for almost two years. The subject matter of the dispute was a refund guarantee allegedly issued by an employee of a regional branch of the Bank at the beginning of the 1990s. The guarantee was purported to secure an obligation of one Ukrainian shipbuilding factory to refund received advance payments under a shipbuilding contract. The customer, buyer, under the shipbuilding contract demanded the Bank to pay USD 17.3 million plus a substantial sum in interest (totalling over USD 43 million) due to the yard’s default on its obligations under the contract. The Commercial Court (Mr. Justice Andrew Smith) found that although the refund guarantee had in fact been issued the Prominvestbank employee had no authority, actual, ostensible or by ratification, to enter into the guarantee on behalf of the Bank, and dismissed the claim. Senior Partner of Arzinger & Partners Sergiy Shklyar supervised the case and Senior Associate Igor Darmogray represented the Bank. Arzinger & Partners (Kyiv) instructed Wragge & Co LLP (London) on this matter. The team of Arzinger & Partners and Wragge & Co LLP cooperated closely with barristers Ali Malek QC and Philip Edey. Sergiy Shklyar said: “It has been a very important case for our client. It is one of those rare instances when a Ukrainian company being a party to a judicial proceeding, particularly in England, that is becoming a more and more important jurisdiction for Ukrainian companies, has been properly represented before an English court. We hope that from now on Ukrainian companies will become more resolute and determined in pursuance of their rights and interests before judicial authorities of foreign jurisdictions. Our clients should know that we shall always be there to take care of their rights and interests in relation to disputes in courts of foreign jurisdictions.” “We have been privileged to receive such an important and demanding instruction from the biggest Ukrainian commercial bank in such a complex dispute. One of the key factors of our success was a close and fruitful cooperation with the representatives of the client. I am sure that both the Bank and Arzinger & Partners can fully appreciate the relationship of mutual trust and cooperation and the spirit of teamwork which has helped us achieve this truly outstanding victory,” mentioned Senior Associate of Arzinger & Partners Igor Darmogray. Tom Price of Wragge & Co LLP said: “We feel privileged to have received this important instruction from Arzinger & Partners. It is hugely satisfying to have secured this victory after nearly two years of determination and persistence. The case also makes an important point about what is within the usual authority of a bank branch and the steps to be taken to ensure a guarantee is enforceable.” Head of Legal of Prominvestbank, Roman Kudritskiy said: “Prominvestbank has been happy to work with such a highly-qualified, friendly and motivated team of lawyers of Arzinger & Partners. Although it was a demanding case we always knew that Arzinger’s did their best to represent our interests and defend our rights during the whole course of proceedings”. Prominvestbank is one of Ukraine’s largest commercial banks, with 26 regional head offices, 262 branches and over 1,000 agencies. Sea Emerald SA is a Panamanian shipping company, part of the Laskaridis Group. Commercial, civil and administrative litigation and international commercial arbitration constitute core areas of expertise of Arzinger & Partners’ strong dispute resolution group. Arzinger & Partners (Ukraine) advise leading Ukrainian and international companies on a complete range of issues related to judicial and arbitral proceedings in Ukraine, as well as in foreign jurisdictions. In the past year Arzinger & Partners has secured a number of high-profile victories. To know more please contact us in person at 75, Zhylyanska str., 01032 Kiev, or by telephone on tel. 390 55 33.
«Арцингер і Партнери» Україна з офісами в Києві і Львові є третьою по величині міжнародною юридичною компанією в Україні, що надає повний спектр правових послуг великим іноземним і українським інвесторам. Надаючи послуги в різних областях права, ми допомагаємо нашим клієнтам захистити інвестиції, збільшити капітал, ефективно управляти компанією і розвивати її, будувати конструктивні стосунки з державою і вирішувати спірні ситуації. Наші клієнти – провідні українські і іноземні компанії, що працюють в галузях нерухомості, будівництва, телекомунікацій, фармацевтики, транспорту, харчової індустрії, паливно-газової галузі, а також у фінансовій, банківській справі і страхуванні. У компанії працюють 70 співробітників. Для отримання додаткової інформації просимо звертатись: |
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