Dispute Resolution

With more experienced litigation lawyers than any other firm active in Romania, we have accumulated highly-specialized expertise and demonstrated practical commercial awareness that uniquely positions us as leading legal advisors to be entrusted with the most sensitive or intricate business disputes.

Lining-up ten Partners coordinating a team of over 50 practitioners, we are particularly equipped to handle complex multi-party or long-standing disputes. We have the resources, coupled with the flexibility, experience and the practical know how to deliver cost-effective results in thousands of cases each year.

We handle civil, commercial, labor, administrative, intellectual property, and fiscal disputes. We consistently propose creative, yet practical solutions to our clients when conflicts arise, along with sustainable strategies to reduce future potential risks – in fact, many of the court cases in which members of our team represented clients have developed into precedents that shaped and strengthened the current domestic case law.

In addition, lawyers, IP and tax consultants across our firm bring their practice and industry-specific knowledge and business insights to enable our litigators to handle even the most complicated issues in:

• commercial relationships
• construction and engineering
• product liability
• environmental law
• planning and regulatory
• fiscal law
• intellectual property
• competition and antitrust and unfair competition
• public acquisition procedures
• insolvency and bankruptcy
• property law

We are wellversed in pleading before the Romanian courts, from trial courts to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Constitutional Court of Romania, as well as before the domestic and international arbitration and constitutional courts, including ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, DAB, Swiss Arbitration Act.

We also understand that going to trial is not always in the best interest of our clients. Therefore, we are always commited to developing the appropriate strategy for each case. We explore every reasonable option for an amicable settlement advantageous to our client. And when settlement is not our client’s best course of action, we develop the most cost-effective and efficient litigation model suitable to our client’s specific needs.

Fiscal Disputes

Our work in fiscal disputes includes representation of:

• a leading producer of oil and lubricants for the automotive industry, in a fiscal litigation to annul a fiscal decision enforcing a fiscal debt
• a leading Romanian steel producer, in a successful administrative claim arising from the annulment of a tax unlawfully imposed by a local authority
• one of the world’s largest American car manufacturers, in a dispute with the national fiscal and customs authorities about the application of customs law and regulations
• a Romanian rubber products manufacturer, in a dispute with the Romanian fiscal authority regarding the cancellation of an administrative fiscal act
• private Romanian and foreign clients, in various tax litigations with the Romanian fiscal authorities having as subject matter the cancellation of an administrative fiscal document (i.e. VAT, income tax, customs debt)
• a shipbuilding, ship repair and conversion company, in the court proceedings against the local authority, in order to cancel a series of  administrative acts by which a local tax was instituted
• a non-banking financial institution, in fiscal-administrative proceedings for the cancellation of 100,000 EUR late payment penalties
• a national oil and gas company, in a complex litigation concerning a high VAT refund, amounting at over EUR 60 million
• a major distributor in the pharmaceutical industry, in relation to a series of litigations aimed obtain the cancellation of the administrative/fiscal decisions received from the National Authority on Social Insurance (CNAS) with respect to the claw back tax

Arbitration

Our work in arbitration includes  representation of:

• the Romanian State, in consortium with a reputable international law firm, in connection with the state aid aspects of an ICSID arbitration initiated by certain investors under the rules on supporting investments in deprived areas, in the context of EU accession
• the leading global natural and built asset design and consultancy firm, in a series of two arbitrations: (i) ICC arbitration and (ii) an arbitration before the Romanian Court of International Commercial Arbitration, in relation to the alleged wrongful termination and non-performance of services for the Constanta By-Pass Project (the construction of north-south by-pass to the city of Constanta and rehabilitation of ten strategic bridges)
• the Romanian producer of forged steel industrial parts, in arbitral litigation under ICC Rules, seated in Zurich, in a dispute related to an alleged contractual breach based on shipments of defective products
• a large American constructor, in a series of ICC arbitrations proceedings, in connection with the performance of contractual obligations in relation to the Romanian Contracting Authority (CNADNR). Assistance involved establishing strategy, drafting submissions, preparing and conducting the examination and cross-examination of the witnesses, pleading before the panel etc.
• a division of a private equity real estate investment management firm focused on Emerging Europe, in an arbitration proceeding related to the execution and performance of a sale-purchase agreement for a plot of land
• a large Dutch human resources consultancy company, in an arbitration proceeding concerning a services agreement concluded for the approval of structural funds
• a leading Romanian electricity company, in negotiating an amicable settlement, before starting an ICC arbitration with a major company specialized in public works
• one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services, in a successful arbitration proceeding conducted under UNCITRAL Rules against the National Company of Motorways and Highways of Romania
• an American motorway constructor, in an ICC arbitration against an Italian contractor with respect to the purchase of guardrails
• an Israeli construction company against a large Romanian dam construction company, which claimed several million EUR from the two mother companies from Israel in relation to the performance of two public acquisition contracts
• the world leader in building materials and a major player in cement, aggregates and concrete businesses, in a commercial arbitration pending before the Court of International Commercial Arbitration in relation to a commercial claim filed by one of the client’s transport operators for cancellation of the transport contract based on price considerations

Commercial Disputes

Our work in commercial disputes includes representation of:

• a major German steel and industrial components manufacturer, in the most complex Romanian commercial litigation concerning an international sale-purchase agreement concluded by a former communist state enterprise
• a leading American car manufacturer, in various corporate disputes relating to the validity of the shareholders meeting decisions relating to the implementation of the privatization agreement concluded by the company with the Authority for Valorization of State Assets (AVAS), including litigation over the annulment of a share capital increase decision
• a Canadian mining company, foreign investor, in the conciliation and litigation process against a public tender, in order to obtain the obligation of the Romanian State to perform its duties under the tender contract
• a large American distributor of used cars, in connection with an alleged non-compliance with the obligations under a privatization contract with the Romanian privatization authority
• a large constructor of industrial installations, in a complex litigation regarding the provision of industrial gases, including interim measures for taking evidence on the installations and components of the industrial facility
• a major leasing company, in several commercial litigations regarding the fulfillment of the leasing contracts concluded with their clients
• foreign governments, in criminal proceedings regarding computer crimes; obtaining decisions amounting to over 300,000 USD in damages
• a Swedish investor acquiring forests in Romania, in litigation and settlement of disputes regarding land and forest bought in Romania and services agreement with providers
• a management company in the wine industry, in successfully claiming its related fees from a management contract concluded with a major wine producer
• a major telecommunications company, against enforcement of judgment for the payment of 1 million EUR debt and canceling court decision awarding the payment

Competition and Antitrust and Unfair Competition Disputes

Our work in competition and antitrust and unfair competition disputes includes our representation of:

• the second largest oil company, in obtaining a 23% reduction of a fine in a case on limitation of sales, the largest to date in terms of the fines imposed by the competition authority
• the Romanian subsidiary of a major Austrian bank, in obtaining a 40% reduction of a fine for inaccurate or incomplete information in an investigation on the market for banking and inter-banking services in Romania
• the second largest cash and carry retailer, in a case on price fixing during promotions upon the sale of food products
• four suppliers of food products (frozen products, beverages, snacks, diary), part of multinational groups, in cases on price fixing during promotions
• the leader of small household appliances market, in a case on price fixing and limitation of sales in buy-back campaigns organized by an association dealing with waste management
• the Romanian subsidiary of a major Austrian bank, in a case on access to investigation file in the context of a sanction for inaccurate or incomplete information
• a leading telecommunications company, in its successful intervention in support of a competition authority decision rejecting a complaint on anti-competitive agreement with certain distributors, brought by a former distributor
• a major coffee company, in several cases against former employees engaged in unlawful competition acts after they left the company
• one of the largest cement producers in Romania, in an administrative claim filed by another cement producer
• a global multinational consumer goods company, in four commercial litigations filed by one of the client’s distributors for unfair competition

Administrative Disputes

Our work in administrative disputes includes representation of:

• the Romanian subsidiary of a leading electronic communication company, in disputes concerning administrative decisions by the local authorities concerning certain conditions imposed on operators, under urban planning regulations
• the Romanian subsidiary of a leading American processed pork foods company, in an administrative claim against health authorities requesting compensation for damages incurred due to restrictions on the movement of, and required destruction of, livestock exposed to swine flu in the 2007 outbreak
• a private university in Bucharest, in disputes concerning administrative accreditation procedures and the implementation of study programs established at national level
• a mining company, in a series of litigations initiated by third parties aimed to challenge the validity and the enforcement of the new Environmental Approval issued for the Gold mining project to be developed at Certej (one of the most significant gold mines in Romania, located in the western part of Romania)
• a real estate developer, in a complex series of commercial, civil and administrative litigations, that has been lasting for over 10 years, designed to purge the legal status (from a regulatory, construction and title perspective) of the building constructed by the client in the center of Bucharest
• a major German constructor, in the claim for the suspension of the administrative contract for the rehabilitation of the Oradea Airport located in the western part of Romania
• a major contractor, in relation to the award of the administrative contracts for the rehabilitation of the water infrastructure in Albota city, located in the central part of Romania (Sibiu county) client,
• a client against the National Railway Company CFR, in the claims related to the performance of a public procurement contract

Bankruptcy

Our work in bankruptcy litigation includes our representation of:

• a major UK biofuel company, in successfully obtaining damages of over 5 million EUR against a Romanian debtor and securing the registration in the creditors’ table; obtaining recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award in Romania rendered for the same amount and securing the client´s interests
• a series of clients against insolvency claimant applications to cancel the assignment of claims and obtaining the stay and subsequently the cancellation of the enforcement procedures of the insolvent claimant for 1.5 million EUR;  obtaining in the end cancellation on the merits of the insolvent claimant´s requests
• an UK financial investment group, with respect to loans granted in Romania, enforcement procedures against real estate assets for a 10 million EUR debt; negotiation and mediation with the debtor; representation in insolvency proceedings for the enforcement of the claims; successfully challenging the reorganization plan submitted by the debtor aimed at minimizing the enforcement of claims by the client; obtaining the stay of proceedings and an order for the immediate sale of the assets of the insolvent company mortgaged in favor of client
• a Belgian insurance company, in insolvency and related commercial claims for the recovery of over 10 million EUR loans and bonds issued to local real-estate companies
• a series of Spanish investors, in Romanian insolvency proceedings against the debtor and its surety for securing the registration of the client´s full claims in the creditors´ table (1 million EUR) and cancelling the majority creditor out of the proceedings, including cancellation of a corporate decision affecting the share capital structure
• the national oil company, in a complex case involving banking, fiscal, and insolvency rules in connection with a significant debt to be recovered from an insolvent company
• one of the largest Romanian security and personnel services providers, in a dispute against fraudulent creditors, resulting in the successful termination of the procedure and the reinsertion of the client into commercial circuit
• a series of Italian investors in insolvency procedures in Romania as well as in cross-border insolvency
• a major contractor of motorways, in an insolvency procedure in Romania; negotiation with financial institutions for the approval of the reorganization plan to cover over 4 million EUR in debt
• representation of a leading worldwide energy company, in relation to several insolvency and bankruptcy procedures, in order to recover receivables and current debts due after the procedure was started

Intellectual Property Disputes

Our work in intellectual property disputes includes our representation of:

• the Romanian subsidiary of a leading international beer producer, in proceedings involving patent rights and the annulment of a patent
• a leading Austrian insurance products and related services provider, in litigation against a Romanian insurance company, arising from the illicit use of the Austrian company’s trademark
• a leading international consumer goods corporation, in litigation against a French company aimed to annul a trademark registered in Romania in infringement of the Protex trademark owned by our client
• a leading Czech generic drugs producer, in a case against another pharmaceutical company to annul the patent registered by the opposing party
• a large American fabrics manufacturer, in a counterfeit litigation against several Romanian companies acting in infringement of our client’s industrial designs
• a major tobacco company, in successfully and irrevocably canceling the trademark of an important competitor
• a major trademark holding company, in irrevocably rejecting the cancellation claims made by ex-Russian State owned company against several trademarks owned by client
• a US manufacturer of security devices, in protecting trademarks in Romania

Real Estate Disputes

Our work in the resolution of real estate disputes includes our representation of:

• a leading Greek bank, in a highly complex litigation arising out of the non-fulfillment of the contractual obligations of a real estate debtor under two contracts, a sale-purchase agreement and a term loan agreement
• a leading Central and Eastern Europe real estate developer, in a dispute arising from the unlawful restriction of an access road to our client’s property by its neighbors
• a major real estate developer, in an amicable settlement of a dispute with a contractor
• the Bucharest Municipality, in connection with the recovery of over 7 ha of land with destination of park to be used for the benefit of the community, with the land being located in Herastrau park, one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Bucharest

Employment Disputes

Our work in employment disputes includes representation of:

• the national oil company, in labor litigation involving the collective labor agreement
• a large American infrastructure services provider, in a complex case involving the lawfulness of an investigation conducted by the government labor authority in connection with a labor accident
• the Romanian subsidiary of a large French cement producer, in a criminal case arising from a labor accident
• an important US authority, in a labor litigation involving application of the Vienna Convention related to the diplomatic immunity in the field of labor law
• a large private oil company, in several complex labor litigations having as subject matter the interpretation of the collective labor agreement
• a large cosmetics provider, in labor disputes in connection with individual dismissal decisions
• a large German manufacturer of steel and steel products, in labor disputes in connection with individual dismissal decisions
• a large national gas distribution service provider, in labor disputes in relation to individual dismissal decisions
• a large gas company, in a series of litigations initiated by former employees following collective labor dismissals proceedings