Challenge: Securing Payment in a Multi-Jurisdictional Trade Dispute
A prominent UAE-based trading company faced significant financial risk when a European distributor unilaterally terminated a supply contract and refused payment for a large consignment of goods, totaling AED 50 Million. The complexities involved included: conflicting contractual jurisdiction clauses, the freezing of assets in two different international markets, and the need to reconcile commercial law differences between the UAE and the EU member state.
Our Strategy
- Immediate Asset Protection: We swiftly initiated urgent precautionary measures in both jurisdictions to prevent the debtor from liquidating assets.
- Jurisdictional Clarity: We successfully argued the enforcement jurisdiction in the UAE courts, demonstrating that the critical contractual obligations and financial harm originated within the Emirates, thereby simplifying the litigation process for our client.
- Bilingual Litigation & Expert Testimony: Our cross-border team managed the translation and submission of complex commercial documents and utilized specialized expert witnesses to quantify the damages under both common law and civil law principles.
- Strategic Negotiation: Parallel to the litigation process, we engaged the distributor’s primary bank to apply pressure, leading to a willingness to settle outside of a protracted court battle.
Outcome
Suhaila Al Marzooqi Advocates & Legal Consultants achieved a comprehensive settlement for the client, recovering 95% of the outstanding AED 50 Million within eight months of engagement. This result avoided years of complex international arbitration, minimized the client’s legal costs, and re-established their financial stability.
Key takeaway: Our ability to coordinate litigation and enforcement across multiple legal systems ensures our clients’ financial security, regardless of where their debtors are located.
