Foley Hoag Lawyers Help Venezuela Obtain Victory in ICSID Arbitration Brought By Dutch Company
Boston, MA - January 18, 2008
Foley Hoag lawyers successfully represented the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in obtaining the dismissal of a claim brought by the Dutch company I & I Beheer B.V. in an international arbitration before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), an arm of the World Bank. Foley Hoag attorneys have recently obtained victories as well for Guyana, Ecuador, Chile, and Nicaragua in international arbitrations.
The Dutch company brought its claim in 2005 under the bilateral investment treaty between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and The Netherlands, complaining that Venezuela had refused to pay out on two promissory notes worth $10 million that the claimant acquired in 2004 and which had been allegedly issued in 1981 by a Venezuelan state-owned agricultural bank, BANDAGRO. The Dutch company claimed US $300 million in damages allegedly reflecting the value of the note and interest since 1991, the supposed maturity date. Venezuela’s defense, led by Foley Hoag partner Ron Goodman, demonstrated that the supposed promissory notes—and supporting documents presented by the company—were all forgeries.
After the notes were shown to be forged, claimant’s counsel Freshfields withdrew and, a month later, claimant failed to submit its written pleadings. Shortly afterward, Venezuela submitted a motion and supporting written pleadings to dismiss the claim. The motion was granted in December 2007 by the ICSID Tribunal (Karl-Heinz Bockstiegel, Charles N. Brower, Pierre-Marie Dupuy).
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