The Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act
In June 2020, Russia enacted the so-called Lugovoy Law, Article 248.1 of the Russian Arbitrazh Procedural Code, which allows Russian courts to assume exclusive jurisdiction over sanctioned persons, ignoring contractual choice-of-court and arbitration clauses. Article 248.2 authorizes anti-suit and anti-arbitration injunctions by Russian courts to enforce that exclusive jurisdiction. Article 248 has been invoked repeatedly in…
Continue ReadingA Primer on Antisuit Injunctions
The antisuit injunction, which blocks a party from initiating or pursuing litigation in a foreign court, is a powerful tool in the judicial arsenal. Courts issue these injunctions, under appropriate circumstances, to prevent the development of parallel proceedings. They can also be used to prevent a party from taking action in a foreign forum intended…
Continue ReadingRussia’s Lugovoy Law and the Battle for Jurisdiction
Sanctions have not only complicated the enforcement of contracts—they have also begun to affect the forums in which transnational disputes may be resolved. Russia’s so-called “Lugovoy Law” allows sanctioned parties to sue in Russian courts even when they have agreed to have their disputes decided elsewhere, and it is backed by threats of steep penalties….
Continue ReadingFederal Court Issues Worldwide Anti-Enforcement Injunction
Last month, Judge Edward Davila (Northern District of California) granted a motion by Google for a rare type of equitable relief: a worldwide anti-enforcement injunction. In Google v. Nao Tsargrad Media, a Russian media company obtained a judgment against Google in Russia and then began proceedings to enforce it in nine different countries. Arguing that…
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