RTPR Allen & Overy and Schoenherr Romania have successfully represented Romanian electrical company Societatea Energetica Electrica S.A. in a EUR 800 million dispute against the Romanian Management Company for Ownership in Energy.
According to RTPR Allen & Overy, Societatea Energetica Electrica S.A. ("Electrica") won the first procedural phase in litigation against the Management Company for Ownership in Energy (SAPE), the Romanian public company which manages the state’s portfolio in the energy sector. The case referred to claims filed by SAPE against Electrica and other defendants for the payment of damages amounting to approximately EUR 800 million for alleged breaches of the post-privatization monitoring obligations regarding former distribution subsidiaries of Electrica. A series of international arbitration cases regarding these privatization contracts preceded this case.
"This case has been particularly difficult as the counterparty attempted to reopen, in a new procedural framework, older claims which had previously been subject to a series of intricate international arbitration cases,” said RTPR Allen & Overy Partner Valentin Berea.
Schoenherr Partner Adina Jivan described it as “a litigation case of multi-disciplinary legal implications, raising some interesting and complex topics, and in which a long and intricate history of contracts and disputes came into play. In addition, the procedural aspects were very important, as the court decision, favorable to our client, was ruled on based on these.”
The RTPR Allen & Overy team included Partner Valentin Berea, Senior Associate Adriana Dobre, Managing Associate Vicu Buzac, and Associate Ana Popa.
The Schoenherr team consisted of Partner Adina Jivan and Senior Associate Iustin Armasu.
