HOUSTON, TX -- 06/21/07 --
King & Spalding, a leading international law
firm, announced today that its international arbitration team has earned a
key victory for creditors of Enron Corporation and Ponderosa Assets, L.P.,
in their claim against the government of Argentina. King & Spalding won
approximately $140 million for its clients, making this award one of the
five largest ever granted by the International Centre for the Settlement of
Investment Disputes (ICSID), a division of the World Bank.
The dispute arose from the passage of Argentina's so-called "Emergency Law"
in January 2002, during the height of Argentina's 2001-2002 economic
crisis. The law "pesified" (i.e., converted from U.S. dollars to Argentine
pesos) and froze all public utility tariffs, including those of Enron's
Argentine gas transportation subsidiary, TGS. The effect of these measures
made TGS insolvent by reducing its revenues by nearly two-thirds.
Enron and Ponderosa claimed that the "Emergency Law" measures violated the
terms of TGS's license and Argentina's obligations to them under the
bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the United States and Argentina.
Argentina defended the measures as justified on the basis of the economic
crisis the country faced. The ICSID tribunal accepted Enron's claim and
rejected Argentina's defenses, finding that Argentina's measures violated
the provisions in the BIT guaranteeing fair and equitable treatment and the
observation of all obligations entered into with regard to Enron's
investment in TGS.
On May 22, ICSID awarded approximately $140 million in compensation,
including pre-award interest, to Enron and Ponderosa.
The King & Spalding team representing Enron was led by partners R. Doak
Bishop and Craig S. Miles, of the Houston office.
Other King & Spalding lawyers who worked on the case were the following:
Counsel: Kenneth R. Fleuriet (London) and Juan P. "John" Crespo (Houston)
Associates: Roberto J. Aguirre Luzi (Houston) and Martin F. Gusy (Houston).
King & Spalding has one of the leading international arbitration practices
in the world, specializing in oil and gas and energy disputes, foreign
investment disputes against governments and disputes involving Latin
American projects. Lawyers in the international arbitration group have
represented major U.S. and foreign companies as well as foreign state-owned
companies in arbitrated disputes ranging from one million dollars to more
than one billion dollars.
About King & Spalding
King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in
Atlanta, Dubai, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office) and
Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100, and in a
Corporate Counsel survey in August 2006 was ranked one of the top ten firms
representing Fortune 250 companies overall. For additional information,
visit www.kslaw.com.
Contact:
Kimberly Brooks
212-827-4378
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