Issue #39 : The Litigation Epidemic
Welcome to the 39th edition of OIA!
Here are the latest 🌶 headlines in APAC:
Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Court of First Instance upholds pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-Tung’s 15-month prison sentence
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka ratifies the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation
South Korea: South Korean government commences legal action against doctors over walkout
Thailand: Thailand's Supreme Court drops anti-corruption case against former PM Yingluck Shinawatra
Ling Yah
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A Hefty Gamble
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Exciting times in Macau Special Administrative Region - an award for its first major arbitration case has just been made since its arbitration law was revised in 2019 to modernise the existing arbitration framework in Macau!
🍿 What Happened?
Sanum Investments Ltd had partnered with ST Group (a Laotian gambling and banking group) to venture into the Lao gaming industry. This partnership commenced in May 2007, where Sanum would hold 60% after an initial period favouring ST.
Sanum ended up investing USD 85 million in the Laos gaming business and this proved pivotal in the profitability of the ventures involved, especially in relation to the Thanaleng Slot Club and the Savan Vegas Casino.
Tension arose surrounding the management and profit-sharing arrangement of the Thanaleng Slot Club.
👀 The Final Award
The ICC Tribunal ordered ST Group to jointly and severally pay Sanum a total of $170 million in damages, as well as $2.7 million in legal and ICC costs.
This is in addition to the $1.8 million that Sanum had previously collected from Sithat in Singapore pursuant to a court order.
This was quite the hefty that gamble!
The Department of Health Loses
The Filipino Court of Appeal just tossed out the Department of Health’s (“DOH”) appeal.
🍿 What Happened?
JBros Construction Corporation (“JBros”) secured the rights to build a functional barangay health station in every village, using public elementary school sites for the same.
The DOH was meant to deliver possession of all 2,500 sites to JBros but JBros claimed that there were issues during the turnover and that there was a lack of proper coordination between the DOH and the Department of Education.
In 2019, JBros issued a termination notice and demanded payment for the completed works.
In January 2022, the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission (CIAC) Arbitral Tribunal awarded JBRos (collectively referred to as “Award”):
P516.87 million as actual damages;
P87.83 million as cost of materials ordered; and
P245.61 million as unrealized profit.
👀 The Award
The Court of Appeal has since dismissed the DOH’s petition to seek aside the Award.
The DOH has 60 days to file a petition if it so wishes.
Amazon is Sued!
Seoul Semiconductor Co Ltd (“SSC”), the world’s second largest global LED manufacturer, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the European Unified Patent Court against Amazon Services Europe, seeking an injunction against the sale of infringing products.
The patents in question relate to:
A technology that adjusts the brightness and color of LED lighting products - it’s used in mart lighting products and color-tunable lighting; and
Heat dissipation in LED packages - it’s used in automotive lighting.
🤯 Quick Thoughts
A win in this instance would be critical as the UPC order could take effect across all 17 European countries.
SSC and its affiliates have also had an enviable litigation track record - in the last 5 years, they obtained 15 permanent injunctions against different manufacturers and distributors in jurisdictions spanning the US, Germany, France and the Netherlands!
Looks like SSC’s 18,000+ registered patents is not just for show. 😉
Spotlight: Joonhak Choi
What is your current role?
I am a member of the international arbitration & cross-border litigation group at Kim & Chang in Seoul, Korea. My practice focuses on international commercial arbitration involving post-M&A, joint venture, and shareholders disputes and advising clients on investment treaty matters. As I also speak Japanese, I frequently represent Japanese clients in both arbitration and litigation.
What is your proudest achievement?
Winning the ROAP Asia 2022 Finals for oral submissions (with my teammate Tze Siong Ang at Allen & Overy). The Remote Oral Advocacy Programme is a six-month training course in international arbitration organized by Delos Dispute Resolution. At the finals, I had presented my oral arguments before a distinguished tribunal consisting of Lucy Reed, Sapna Jhangiani KC, and Nicholas Lingard; and as a junior lawyer, I was happy to see myself building my own style of advocacy.
If you had 25 hours in a day, what would you do with the extra hour?
Learn how to make yummy snacks for my 15-month-old daughter. I love the way she squeezes into her mouth her favorite strawberries more than she can handle, and I am yearning to see my daughter one day enjoying my handmade snacks just like those juicy fruits!
If you weren't a lawyer, what would you be?
Perhaps I would be a TV producer creating variety shows, which is what my wife actually does. We often talk about each other’s work and I boldly believe sometimes my ideas on making new entertainment shows aren’t that bad. (Guess what? My wife says she would have done a better job as a lawyer.)
Your favourite food haunt is...?
“Dongbei” at Gwanghwamun, Seoul (just a few minutes’ walk from my office). The combination of grilled lamb skewers and a small bottle of Baijiu is my go-to choice after a long, hectic week.
Note: Edited for clarity & brevity.
Food Feature
If you're ever in Johor on a Monday evening, head over to KSL Mall. The entrance of the mall will bring you to one end of a very long & impressive night market otherwise known as KSL Pasar Malam. A hot favourite amongst the locals.
You'll find everything from cheap shoes and pet fishes to dimsum, fresh corn, avocado juice, meesua, stinky tofu and charcoal bread for RM 2.50!
Definitely a local experience not to be missed (it's always packed and some vendors have been around for decades) but it runs only on a Monday! So there's that. 😉
Details: Google Map
Are you a student or young lawyer?
Want to get involved in helping to run Overheard? Meet senior practitioners? Do legal research with real world impact?
We're always looking for bright, young talent like yourself so if you're interested, give us a holler at editor@overheard.asia!
Special thanks to Overheard in Asia's sponsor:
David Grief was described as "the Law's Middleman" (Business Times, 2021). You can reach out to him at dg@davidgrief.com if you need help identifying the right lawyer, arbitrator or expert for your matters, or even if you just want to grab a drink 🍵🍺 with someone who has managed and mentored lawyers for almost 5️⃣0️⃣ years!