Professional notice
Advising Nissan in a treaty claim against India
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AZB was born in 2004 from a merger between CZB & Partners in Mumbai and Ajay Bahl & Company in Delhi. Today the firm has five offices in India. It enjoyed a “best friends” agreement with Clifford Chance until 2011.
The firm has moved away from Indian law firms’ traditional family-style structure and has been praised for its clear partnership track.
AZB’s reputation owes much to the personality and profile of founding partner Zia Mody in Mumbai. She spent three years as vice president of the LCIA and has acted in numerous cases under that institution’s rules, as well as those of the ICC, SCC, LMAA, SIAC and UNCITRAL.
Senior partner Rajendra Barot in Mumbai leads the dispute resolution practice. Another strong name is Vijayendra Pratap Singh, partner and head of litigation in Delhi, who has spearheaded arbitrations related to option contracts, shareholder disputes and intellectual property issues.
Who uses it?
The former majority shareholders of Yukos Oil Company used the firm for a Delhi High Court action to enforce a US$50 billion award against Russia, which was discontinued.
Other recent clients include Tata Group; the owners of the Indian Premier League franchise cricket team Kochi Tuskers; India’s largest telecoms company, Bharti Airtel; Axis Bank; and private healthcare provider Parkway Pantai Group.
It’s also advised HSBC; Bank of New York Mellon’s London branch; Swiss Timing (a subsidiary of The Swatch Group); and BanyanTree Growth Capital.
Past clients include Vedanta Resources, KPMG, Philip Morris, Dhariwal Industries, Lehman Brothers and US cable television network ESPN. It has also acted for Indian property developer Kabul Chawla and his company, BPTP.
Track record
In one of its highest-profile cases, the firm defended Tata Sons in an LCIA claim brought by Japan’s largest mobile operator, NTT Docomo, over a short-lived internet services venture. The arbitration ended in 2016 with a US$1.17 billion award against Tata. The award was paid in the following year, after Delhi litigation that had seen the intervention of the Reserve Bank of India in a bid to thwart payment.
In 2015, AZB defended Swiss luxury goods group Richemont in litigation filed by an Indian distribution partner, persuading the Indian Supreme Court to refer the claims to arbitration. It also convinced the court to quash parallel criminal proceedings launched against the client.
Recent events
The firm secured a good result for Tata Steel in a claim against New India Assurance over its failure to pay out under an all-risk insurance policy following an accident in one of Tata’s blast furnaces. The Mumbai-seated case ended with an award in favour of Tata for US$14.5 million plus interest and costs.
AZB obtained a win for its clients SMS and Solar Industries India in two ad hoc claims against a mining company owned by the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The dispute concerned a joint venture to exploit two coal blocks. AZB’s clients filed for arbitration after India’s Supreme Court held that the licences for the blocks were illegal. The tribunal upheld the clients’ claims regarding frustration and restitution.
With co-counsel Allen & Overy and Indian firm Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan in New Delhi, the firm has been appointed to act for Japanese car maker Nissan in a US$776 million investment treaty claim against India. The car maker says India has unfairly withheld payments promised in return for the company investing in a car plant in Chennai.
AZB is also representing IHH Healthcare, the world’s second-largest private healthcare group, in a SIAC arbitration against its minority partners in a subsidiary company in Hyderabad. IHH is seeking US$80 million while the minority shareholders are counterclaiming US$25 million.
AZB has represented leading corporate houses and multinationals in multi-jurisdictional arbitration matters governed by various rules including those of the ICC, UNCITRAL, Swiss Chambers of Commerce, London Maritime Arbitrators Association, Singapore International Arbitration Centre and London Court of International Arbitration. The Firm has also been involved in arbitration proceedings under foreign laws such as New York law and English law where Indian law issues underscored the arbitration proceedings, in addition to numerous arbitrations sited seated within and outside India, governed by Indian law.
The Firm has handled complex commercial litigation and arbitration including advising in filing and defending interim applications in courts and before tribunals, conducting cross examination and trials of intricate questions of law and fact which are landmark decisions in the development of the law. In addition, the experienced litigation and arbitration team of the Firm also advises clients who get dragged in white collar criminal proceedings, often an offshoot of the civil proceedings. The experience in arbitration and litigation is across almost every industry including construction, manufacturing, mining and natural resources, insurance disputes, EPC contracts, real estate, information technology, aviation, banking and finance, telecommunication, infrastructure, etc.
Legal 500 2016 says about AZB “Without doubt, a powerhouse in the dispute resolution arena, AZB & Partners is adept in commercial litigation and arbitration”. Ms. Zia Mody has been recognized as one of the “World’s Leading practitioner” for Commercial Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal 2016. She was Vice President on the London Court of International Arbitration (2010 - 2013). Mr. Ajay Bahl has been recommended for Litigation by the RSG India Report, 2017. Mr. Rajendra Barot is highly recommended for his Litigation & Arbitration practice. Mr. Barot has been recognised as a market leading practitioner in the dispute resolution space in 2017 and 2018 by AsiaLaw Leading Lawyers. Mr. Vijayendra Pratap Singh was awarded ‘Disputes Star of the Year’ by AsiaLaw Asia-Pacific Disputes Resolution Awards 2016 and by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific in 2013. The firm expanded its litigation and dispute resolution practice, by bringing on board Mr. Anoj Menon and promoting Ms. Sonali Mathur in 2017. Mr. Menon has longstanding experience of commercial and corporate disputes. Ms. Mathur has advised and represented clients in several landmark matters.
The Firm has advised a world leader luxury brand (“Client”) in its disputes with its distributor in India. In spite of arbitration clause providing for Swiss law governed ICC arbitration seated in Switzerland, the distributor filed a suit in Indian courts and also filed a criminal complaint making allegations of criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. AZB advised the Client and argued the application before the trial court seeking dismissal of the suit in view of the arbitration clause. As a result of persistent efforts, the suit was dismissed within less than 5 months. The order of dismissal was upheld by the Supreme Court of India and the Supreme Court also ordered closure of the criminal case.” AZB is also currently advising a Mauritian Private Equity Fund in pursuing a USD 70.5 million claim in an ICC Arbitration. The Firm is acting for one of the world’s largest developers and manufacturers of railcar (bogie) systems and components.