ABU DHABI // The Supreme Court has invalidated part of a bank's claim against an oil company in the latest turn in a 13-year-long lawsuit over a multimillion-dollar deal gone bad.
The case dates to 1998 when the oil company, which was operating in the UAE, struck a deal with a buyer from China to provide 30,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil. The unidentified local bank agreed to finance the deal, which had an initial value of US$3.83 million (Dh14m).
But the bank delayed payment, which caused the sale to fall through, so the oil company had to sell the oil off at a below-market price. The loss eventually led to the company's dissolution.
In the Supreme Court ruling, released in documents yesterday, justices held the bank had admitted before a lower court that it had received sufficient guarantees of payment from the company, and therefore its delays in payment were unjustified.
The company lost US$13,500 for each day's delay; the documents did not say how many days were involved.
Documents show the Chinese customer provided a letter of guarantee of US$4.5m to the oil company, which passed the letter to the bank and then found a tanker to ship the oil to China.
The delivery was to be made between September 15 and 20, 1998. But the bank provided the finance required for the oil to be loaded only on September 16.
The Chinese customer terminated the contract due to the delays, the documents say.
Both the company and the bank filed lawsuits. The company demanded US$10m in damages; the bank sought US$3.47m it said it had loaned the oil company, plus nine per cent yearly interest since November 7, 1998.
On June 26, 2000 the Federal Commercial Court rejected the company's lawsuit and ordered it to pay US$3m, plus US$275,055 in interest, to the bank. Both the bank and the company appealed, and the Federal Court of Appeals upheld the earlier verdict, ordering the company to pay an added US$1.7m.
The company appealed to the Supreme Court, which sent the case back to the appeals court. The appeals court raised the amount of damages again, to US$12.2m, and upheld the interest penalties.
The company then took the case back to the Supreme Court, which said the lower courts had erred in ignoring the bank's admission it had received sufficient financial guarantees for the value of the purchases.
"Despite admitting before a court, the courts did not examine this defence," Justice Amin al Hajeri wrote in a ruling issued on January 17. "And because the ruling was issued accordingly, the decision is considered erroneous and should be rejected."
The justice sent the case back to the appeals court to be examined by a new panel.
hhassan@thenational.ae
Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
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THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Fixtures
Tuesday - 5.15pm: Team Lebanon v Alger Corsaires; 8.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Pharaohs
Wednesday - 5.15pm: Pharaohs v Carthage Eagles; 8.30pm: Alger Corsaires v Abu Dhabi Storms
Thursday - 4.30pm: Team Lebanon v Pharaohs; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Carthage Eagles
Friday - 4.30pm: Pharaohs v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Team Lebanon
Saturday - 4.30pm: Carthage Eagles v Alger Corsaires; 7.30pm: Abu Dhabi Storms v Team Lebanon
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5