Russian court awards Tamir Sapir $28m in oil dispute.Real estate entrepreneur, Tamir Sapir An immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, Tamir Sapir (birth name Temur Sepiashvili) arrived in the United States in 1973, becoming a taxicab driver in New York City. Saving up to buy an electronics store, he catered primarily to Russian clientele. , recently won an unprecedented judgment in excess of $28 million from Russia's highest judicial court after a long and arduous legal battle. "This is a welcome decision that we are proud of, and testimony to our persistence and outstanding legal team. It also points to a positive direction for the future of the business community in Russia," said Tamir Sapir, chairman of The Sapir Organization. In 1995, the government of the Russian Federation Russian Federation: see Russia. issued a decree to build a complex for production of polypropylene articles on the Moscow Oil Refinery's (MOR MOR abbr. middle-of-the-road MOR adj abbr (MUS) (= middle-of-the-road) → para el gran público MOR adj abbr (Mus) (= ) site. In order to obtain funds for the construction of the complex, MOR was granted permission to export oil products. Sapir's company, Joy-Lud Distributor's International Inc, was to manage the financing of the project by selling oil products abroad. In 1997, the Central Fuel Company gained a controlling interest controlling interest The ownership of a quantity of outstanding corporate stock sufficient to control the actions of the firm. Controlling interest often involves ownership of significantly less than 51% of a firm's outstanding stock because many owners fail in MOR. Several MOR shareholders filed suit to deem the contract between Joy-Lad and MOR as void. Moscow courts, however, held the contract valid. Joy-Lud brought the case before the International Arbitration International arbitration is the established method today for resolving disputes between parties to international commercial agreements. As with arbitration generally, it is a creature of contract, i.e. Tribunal in Stockholm and on June 14, 2005, the Tribunal ordered MOR to pay JoyLud $28 million in penalties, plus approximately 10% annual interest. The Tribunal's order was overturned by Moscow's lower courts, but was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Arbitrazh Court, Russia's highest court. "The decision of the Supreme Arbitrazh Court confirmed the enforceability of the award of the International Arbitration Tribunal in Stockholm. The Joy-Lud precedent is a very positive development in support of the recognition of foreign arbitration awards in Russia, hopefully, welcoming more foreign investors coming into the country," said Katerina Haslam-Jones, a London lawyer representing Mr. Sapir. The Sapir Organization is a privately held New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of based real estate holding and development company with over 7 million square feet of prime Manhattan commercial office space. In addition to 11 Madison Ave, the U.S. headquarters of Credit Suisse The Credit Suisse Group (SWX:CSGN, NYSE: CS) is a financial services company, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. It is the second-largest Swiss bank, behind UBS AG. , the company owns 2 Broadway, 260 Madison Avenue, 261 Madison Ave, 384 Fifth Ave and 100 Church Street, as well as two residential buildings. |
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