Technology

Trade-Secret Dispute re: Automotive Ethernet PHY Technology, AAA, Silicon Valley

• Represent international chip developer against former employees and their start-up company in claims for trade-secret misappropriation and breach of contract. California Law.

Licensing Dispute re: Antenna-Array Technology for Handy Phones, ICC, Geneva
• Defended Japanese technology firm against claims for royalty payments under joint technology-development agreement with U.S.-based licensor. Delaware Law.
Arbitrators: Bernhard Meyer (President), John Dragseth, Steven Bauer

Warranty Dispute re: Almond Pasteurization Technology, ICC, Paris
• Represented U.S. almond producer in $20-million dispute with supplier of raw-nut pasteurization system. German Law/CISG.
Arbitrator: Eliseo Castineira

Dispute over Early Termination of ASIC Development Agreement, ICC, San Francisco
• Counselled U.S. chip maker on arbitration strategy in dispute with Japanese electronics company following chip maker’s withdrawal from agreement to produce application-specific integrated circuit. New York Law

Construction and Engineering

Construction Dispute re: South American LNG Facility, ICC, Madrid
• Defended Japanese conglomerate against $400-million claim by EPC contractor against owner of failed LNG facility and its shareholders.
• Arbitration was conducted in Spanish and involved complex interplay of Spanish arbitration law, the civil law of Uruguay, and both Brazilian and Uruguayan insolvency regimes.
Arbitrators: Horacio Grigera-Naón (President), Eduardo Zuleta, Javier Íscar de Hoyos

Construction Dispute re: Copper Mine in Peru, ICC, Houston
• Represented EPC contractor in $120-million dispute involving allegations of defective engineering at ore-processing facilities in Andes. New York Law.
Arbitrators: Eduardo Siqueiros (President), Horacio Grigera-Naón, Aníbal Sabater

Construction Dispute re: Systems Failure at Brazilian Power Plant, ICC, New York
• Defended EPC contractor against claims stemming from the failure of 469 MW combined-cycle power-generation facility in Brazil.
• Case involved complex engineering questions regarding the root cause of an explosion in one of the plant’s gas-turbine generators. New York Law.
Arbitrators: Johnny Veeder (President), Yves Derains, Gerald Aksen

Emergency Measures re: Construction of Mexican Wind Farm, ICC, New York
• Defeated application for interim measures seeking to oust wind-farm developer from its role as balance-of-plant subcontractor through purported exercise of general contractor’s step-in rights. New York Law.
Arbitrator: Stephen Drymer

Distributorships and Licensing

Licensing Dispute re: International Yogurt Brand, ICC, New York
• Defended U.S. food producer’s continued use of industry-leading yogurt trademark against efforts by licensor to nullify the parties’ license agreement under French law.
Arbitrators: Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler (President), Eric Schwartz, Pierre Mayer

Dispute re: Tequila Production and Distribution, ICC, San Francisco
• Represented international spirits distributor against its tequila supplier and trademark licensor to halt fraudulent business practices and obtain assignment of contested brand. California Law.
Arbitrators: Gerald Ghikas (President), Horacio Grigera-Naón, Richard Chernick

Dispute re: West African Wine Distributorship, ICC, San Francisco
• Represented wine producer against West African trading company in $40-million dispute arising from termination of the trader’s distribution contract. California Law.
Arbitrators: Eric van Ginkel, Amb. (Ret.) David Huebner, Charles Ragan

Dispute re: Chilean Automobile Distributorship, ICC, New York
• Represented Japanese trading company and its local affiliate in emergency proceedings to block termination of Chilean distribution contract with Japanese automaker. Mexican Law.
Arbitrator: David Arias

Dispute re: Watercraft Engine Distributorship in Mexico, ICC, New York
• Represented Japanese manufacturer of watercraft engines in arbitration proceedings, and counselled on parallel Mexican litigation, against its exclusive distributor in Mexico.
Arbitrators: Andrés Rigo Sureda (President), Carlos Loperena, Alfonso Sepúlveda

Dispute re: Tequila Distributorship in Central America, ICDR, Delaware
• Represented producer of premium tequila in dispute with its exclusive distributor in Costa Rica based on national legislation protecting local distributors of international brands. Costa Rican Law.
Arbitrator: John Rooney

Energy

Dispute re: Price Renegotiation under Uranium Supply Agreement, Ad Hoc, Stockholm
• Defeated claimant’s demand under Swedish law for price renegotiation on long-term nuclear-fuels contract. Swedish Law.
Arbitrators: David Sutton (Chair), Neil Kaplan, Prof. Johnny Herre

CISG Damages Claim for Breach of Uranium-Supply Contracts, SCC, Stockholm
• Recovered millions of dollars in damages under the U.N. Convention on International Sale of Goods for breaches of medium-term nuclear-fuels supply contract. Swedish Law.
Arbitrators: Bernard Hanotiau (Chair), Robert Briner, Justice Hans Danelius

Enforcement of Option Rights under Nuclear-Fuels Supply Agreements, Ad Hoc, London
• Enforced commodities trader’s option rights valued at $1 billion under supply contract for enriched uranium. Swedish Law.
Arbitrators: Johnny Veeder (Chair), Jan Paulsson, Robert Briner

Investment Treaty Disputes

Dispute re: Regulatory Expropriation of Landfill in Mexico, ICSID, Washington, D.C.
• Preliminary strategy development for successful BIT claim on behalf of Spanish environmental-services company against United Mexican States for de facto expropriation of landfill investment.
Arbitrators: Alexis Mourre (President); Juan Fernández Armesto, Eduardo Siqueiros

KRS v. PAAMCO/PRISMA (Sup. Ct. Cal.)

• Defend state pension fund against potentially billions of dollars in indemnity claims by the advisor of its fund of hedge-funds in connection with derivative actions targeting the fund advisor for unsuitable and fraudulent investment practices.

Micron v. UMC and Jinhua (N.D. Cal.)
• Represented American DRAM producer in its claims for trade-secret misappropriation and international commercial espionage against Taiwanese semiconductor foundry and PRC-based DRAM start-up. California and U.S. Federal Law.

DxO v. Marvell (N.D. Cal.)
• Represented U.S. integrated-circuit company against royalty claims by French developer of digital photography technology. California and U.S. Federal Law.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory v. Samsung (W.D. Wisc.)
• Defended Korean electronics company against Japanese technology firm’s claims of patent infringement involving LCD display technology. California and U.S. Federal Law.

Etnía Cofán v. Chevron (Ecuador)
• Supervised local counsel in Ecuador in their defense of Chevron against claims of ethnic defamation related to the company’s decades-long Lago Agrio environmental litigation. Ecuadorian Law.

Investigation into Alleged Misappropriation of Ethernet Switch Technology
• Developed and supervised the technology company’s internal investigation of allegations that a company employee had misappropriated a competitor’s trade secrets regarding Ethernet switches. California Law.

Internal Investigation into Alleged Bribes to Philippines Tax Officials
• Led an internal investigation for an international consumer goods company related to allegations that a local agent had bribed officials of the Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue. FCPA.

Internal Investigation into Alleged Corruption in Reconstruction Efforts in Haiti
• Led an internal investigation into alleged corruption by the local representative of an international development bank in connection with reconstruction efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake of January 2010. FCPA.

Pre-Acquisition Diligence on Latin American Oil-Field Supply Firms
• Led anti-corruption due diligence efforts on behalf of oil-field supply firm regarding its contemplated acquisition of a competitor’s operations in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. FCPA.

Pre-Investment Diligence into South American Lottery Litigation
• Conducted investigation on behalf of a potential U.S. investor to determine that target lottery company’s successes in major litigation were obtained without undue influence or corrupt practices. FCPA.

Internal Investigation into Expropriation of Industrial Property in Mexico
• Led a multinational energy company’s investigation into allegations that its local agents in Mexico bribed government officials to expropriate land planned for development as a competing LNG terminal. FCPA.