Gibson Dunn & Crutcher (London) Represented Plaintiff In US$100 Million Lawsuit Against Cuba. Firm Represents Plaintiff In Libertad Act Lawsuits In Florida, New Jersey, Texas. China A Defendant.
/CRF I Limited (Cayman Islands), V. Banco Nacional de Cuba, The Republic of Cuba. High Court of Justice, Business And Property Courts Of England And Wales, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court [Part 7 Claim- General Commercial Contracts], Royal Courts of Justice. [CL-2020-000092 Filed 18 February 2020; Court Filing Fee £10,000.00 (approximately US$13,000.00].
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher UK LLP (plaintiff)
Memery Crystal (plaintiff)
7 King’s Bench Walk (plaintiff)
PCB Byrne LLP (defendant)
Essex Court Chambers (defendant)
LINK To All Fourteen Court Filings
NORTH AMERICAN SUGAR INDUSTRIES INC., V. XINJIANG GOLDWIND SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD., GOLDWIND INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (HK) LTD., DSV AIR & SEA INC., BBC CHARTERING USA, LLC, and BBC CHARTERING SINGAPORE PTE LTD., [1:20-cv-22471; Southern Florida District].
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (plaintiff)
Mandel & Mandel (plaintiff)
Morgan, Lewis & Bochius (defendant)
Akerman (defendant)
Hogan Lovells LLP (defendant)
NORTH AMERICAN SUGAR INDUSTRIES INC., Plaintiff, v. DSV AIR & SEA INC., Defendant. [2:21-cv-00080; New Jersey District].
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (plaintiff)
Morgan, Lewis & Bochius (defendant)
NORTH AMERICAN SUGAR INDUSTRIES INC., Plaintiff, V. BBC CHARTERING USA, LLC, Defendant. [4:21-cv-00012; Southern District Texas]
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (plaintiff)
Morgan, Lewis & Bochius (defendant)
The Trump Administration on 2 May 2019 made operational Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996 (known as “Libertad Act”). Title III authorizes lawsuits in United States District Courts against companies and individuals who are using a certified claim or non-certified claim where the owner of the certified claim or non-certified claim has not received compensation from the Republic of Cuba or from a third-party who is using (“trafficking”) the asset.
42 Lawsuits Filed (15 certified claimants & 27 non-certified claimants)
1 Settlement (certified claimants)
1 Current Lawsuit At Court Of Appeals
5 Of Dismissed Lawsuits At Court Of Appeals
US$272,000.00+ Court Filing Fees (not including attorney court appearance fees)
87+ Law Firms
251+ Attorneys
18,000+ Filed Court Documents
US$22+ Million Law Firm Billable Hours (estimated 75% by defendants)
16 Countries Impacted
119 Plaintiffs (some in multiple cases)
4 Class Action Requests
82 Defendants (including corporate parent, subsidiaries; some sued in multiple lawsuits)
26 United States Defendants (not including subsidiaries)
15 Republic of Cuba Initial Defendants (eleven remaining)
31 Non-United States Defendants
10 European Union-Based Defendants
5 Companies Notified As Potential Defendants
LINK To Libertad Act Lawsuit Filing Statistics
Bloomberg
New York, New York
3 May 2018
Cuba Creditor Hires Lawyer Who Won Argentina Debt Settlement
London Club member trying to recover $1.3 billion from Cuba
Creditors had offered to restructure commercial loans
An investment fund that’s seeking a payout from the Cuban government on more than $1.3 billion in defaulted debtand back interest has hired the lawyer who won a settlement for hedge funds in a long-running legal battle against Argentina. CRF I Ltd. contracted Matthew McGill, a partner with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to represent it in its claim against Cuba “including potential litigation,” according to a letter from the firm provided to Bloomberg News by a fund investor. McGill will be joined by Charles Falconer, the former British secretary of State for Justice, according to the letter. CRF is the largest debt holder in the London Club, a group of creditors with a total of more than $5 billion in defaulted commercial debt and back interest. The debt dates back to the 1970s and 1980s and trades at about 23 to 24 cents on the dollar, according to the creditors.
The Cuban government has said it intends to clear such obligations as it seeks a return to international capital markets. Cuba’s former President Raul Castro negotiated a settlement of $11.1 billion in sovereign debt to the Paris Club of creditors, which forgave all but $2.6 billion. The London Club -- which includes CRF, Stancroft Trust Ltd, Adelante Exotic Debt Fund Ltd, and a commercial bank -- also offered to restructure the loans earlier this year but withdrew the proposal when Cuba failed to respond.
A spokesman for CRF said the company wants to work with Cuba’s new government, under President Miguel Diaz-Canel, “to resolve issues so Cuba can return to the international markets.” McGill and the Cuba Finance Ministry didn’t reply to emails seeking comment. McGill represented NML Capital Ltd for more than 10 years as it sought to recover on defaulted sovereign bonds from Argentina. After winning a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, NML and other hedge funds settled with Argentinafor $4.65 billion. More recently, McGill represented funds that hold Puerto Rican municipal debt in a case that was heard by the Supreme Court in March.
