Business Litigation Report -- October 2014

In This Issue:

- Main Article:

..Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement of Judgments

- Noted With Interest:

..New York Federal Court Holds That Arbitrator’s Undisclosed Serious Health Condition Is Not Ground for Vacatur

- Practice Area Notes:

..Trademark Litigation Update

..Product Liability Update

- Victories:

..Wage and Hour Class Action Victory

..Second Circuit Pro Bono Victory

..Product Liability Victory

- Excerpt from Multi-Jurisdictional Enforcement of Judgments:

With more cross-border trade and foreign investments, businesses may find themselves in more disputes with counterparties before foreign courts or in international arbitration. Where a party chooses—or the parties’ contract requires—litigation in a foreign court, it may obtain a final judgment for money damages from the foreign court. However, that court judgment may not end the dispute. The losing party (the judgment debtor) may refuse to pay on the judgment or settle the dispute at a reasonable discount in exchange for giving up appeal rights, and the prevailing party (the judgment creditor) may not have seized assets prior to the judgment. In this situation, the judgment creditor or a distressed debt fund that purchases the judgment may seek to recognize and enforce the judgment in countries where the judgment debtor has assets. Where the final judgment is large, the parties may find themselves fighting or defending a global campaign to recognize and enforce the judgment in multiple countries where the judgment debtor has assets.

This article provides a brief practical overview of multi-jurisdictional enforcement of judgments. First, this newsletter surveys the laws on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments of several different jurisdictions. The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements has not yet entered into force, and there are accordingly procedural and substantive differences in the enforcement laws across countries, which should be accounted for in any global strategy. Second, this newsletter touches on some practical considerations to mount a successful global campaign to either enforce a judgment or defend against enforcement.