Overview
Dispute Resolution is one of the most dynamic and challenging areas of our practice.
Post 1990, Romania embarked on a process of modernisation aimed at bringing its institutions and laws in line with European standards and expectations. This process very much resembled a roller coaster ride. The justice system, and especially the courts, managed, somehow, to carve their way forward through countless legislative reforms, allegations of corruption and incompetence, overcrowded courtrooms and political influence.
Our Dispute Resolution team experienced this entire process first-hand, which puts them in a unique position to help companies navigate the uncertainties of the most complex contentious matters.
We are strong, whether acting for claimants or defendants, strategic in the way we approach litigation and always seek to find the best possible outcome in the shortest possible time. We advise on all types of disputes, both nationally and internationally, representing clients in international arbitration (including ICC and ICSID) as well as in local matters.
Our firm offers advice on corporate and commercial litigation, real estate litigation, labour conflicts and employment litigation, insurance and transport contract disputes and professional negligence.
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised and represented Compania Romprest Service S.A., one of the Romanian leaders in facility management, in obtaining a landmark decision by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, with the annulment of the minutes and corresponding Decision for ascertaining the irregularities and establishing the budgetary receivables issued in 2018 based on AMPOSDRU financing agreement, and with the obligation of the defendant, namely Ministry of European Funds, to reimburse the plaintiff the amount of LEI 4,724,889.90 (EUR 973,935.41), as well as to pay the plaintiff the related legal interest, starting with the date of filing the lawsuit until the date of actual payment.
- Advised Hervis Sports & Fashion S.R.L., the biggest sports retail chain in Romania, in obtaining an unprecedented decision by the Cluj Specialised Tribunal, with the grant of an injunction for the deferred payment of part of the rent relating to premises at the Vivo Shopping Center in Cluj, owned by commercial real estate group Immofinanz.
- Advised London Partners in connection to the opening procedures of the insolvency against AYKA Construction related to the contractor agreement for the residential SOHO project.
- Advised local subsidiaries of AEW Europe with respect to litigation and insolvency matters pertaining to the operation and lease of an office building located in Bucharest (Victoriei Square – 27,000 sq.m.), and a shopping mall located in Targu Mures (51,350 sq.m.).
- Advised the Intercora Group with respect to litigation and insolvency matters pertaining to the operation and lease of their asset portfolio, including an insolvency claim against DOMO and a civil claim against PROGES.
- Advised Complexul Multifunctional Victoria, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe and owner of the America House Building, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of an office building located in Bucharest (Victoriei Square – 27,000 sq.m.)
- Advised and represented Vinarte, a top Romanian wine producer, throughout the reorganisation of an insolvent company, including advice with respect to financing and rescheduling of the company’s distressed finances, as well as with distressed sales and the acquisition of assets.
- Advised in all facets of the expropriation process to ensure that Imobiliar Barcelona SRL received appropriate compensation for all aspects of the expropriation.
- Advised Alpha Construct SRL, a top construction company in Bucharest, in respect of litigation regarding FIDIC contractual matters arising from a construction agreement with a local public authority, following a public procurement procedure.
- Advised an association, formed by important Romanian and Spanish companies active in the construction and engineering sector, in a court case claiming damages from a Romanian authority incurred as a result of the execution of a public work contract for rehabilitation of the water supply network in mid-sized cities in Southern Romania.
- Advised World Class Romania SA, the largest and leading provider of fitness services in Romania, in litigation with The National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing in Romania.
Keys Contact
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Luiza Ionescu-Donoiu
Counsel
Mihai Iorga
Senior Associate
Ivona Cristea
Senior Associate
Robert Popa-Badea
Associate
Razvan Gabriel Ticu
Associate
Iulian Luca
Associate
Georgiana Udrica
Associate
Arbitration
We have one of the most renowned investment treaty arbitration practices in Romania, with extensive experience of acting on behalf of both the State and investors. We provide unparalleled legal expertise, together with skilful and insightful strategies to help ensure our clients’ success. Our advice involves high-level legal and practical solutions on both international and domestic issues.
We provide advice across the full spectrum of commercial dispute arbitrations in front of the Bucharest International Court of Arbitration, including construction projects (FIDIC), M&A and shareholder disputes.
In contentious situations, we defend our client’s interests whilst always aiming to avoid litigation or arbitration proceedings wherever possible and ensuring the best possible outcome for our client.
We understand the nature of our clients business and their objectives and have the necessary knowledge to navigate complex arbitration proceedings and to defend our clients’ position in the best way possible.
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Our Relevant Experience
- Advised a number of clients in relation to international arbitration proceedings, including several FIDIC based construction related projects, providing services from the extensive assessment of potential disputes to be settled by arbitration to representation in all phases of the proceedings under various international arbitration rules.
- Advised Intercora Property SRL, a major German real estate investor and developer, in front of the Bucharest International Commercial Arbitration Court (attached to the Romanian Trade and Industry Chamber) on an arbitration dispute involving construction works.
- Advised Europe’s largest independent product companies and one of the world’s leading renal care service providers, in administrative arbitration proceedings against certain authorities regarding unpaid medical services.
Tax and administrative litigation
The instability and ambiguity of tax regulations has been an on-going long-term concern for Romania’s business sector. The lack of predictability in the application of tax legislation has often caused complex tax disputes.
We are at our clients’ side every step of the way during any contentious proceedings including the control stage, the administrative jurisdictional stage and any final court proceedings.
Most recently we have been involved in high-value tax disputes and tax fraud criminal investigations, offshore fiscal treatment and double-taxation avoidance disputes, transfer pricing and connected party transaction disputes.
Keys Contact
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Luiza Ionescu-Donoiu
Counsel
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised and represented Compania Romprest Service S.A., one of the Romanian leaders in facility management, in obtaining a landmark decision by the Bucharest Court of Appeal, with the annulment of the minutes and corresponding Decision for ascertaining the irregularities and establishing the budgetary receivables issued in 2018 based on AMPOSDRU financing agreement, and with the obligation of the defendant, namely Ministry of European Funds, to reimburse the plaintiff the amount of LEI 4,724,889.90 (EUR 973,935.41), as well as to pay the plaintiff the related legal interest, starting with the date of filing the lawsuit until the date of actual payment.
- Advised one of the most important manufacturers of leather products in Europe in a dispute with the Romanian tax authorities involving transfer pricing with the parent company in Germany.
- Advised a local subsidiary of one of the most well known retail companies in a dispute involving the recovery of EUR 150,000 which Romanian tax authorities levied on intra-community supply and acquisition of goods from our client to another company based in the United Kingdom.
- Advised a transport company in a dispute with the National Agency for Fiscal Administration regarding the annulment of a tax audit report and the resulting tax decision that levied a considerable tax payment and associated penalties.
Restructuring and insolvency litigation
Romanian insolvency regulation is one of the most controversial and debated pieces of legislation in Romania. Even without the countless changes, the entire law was abrogated and has been replaced three times in the last 20 years in order to bring it fully into line with EU standards.
We have extensive experience in acting for both debtors and creditors and assisting court appointed receivers in high-profile insolvency cases in various sectors, such as consumer goods, banking, insurance, construction and energy.
Keys Contact
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Luiza Ionescu-Donoiu
Counsel
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised London Partners in connection to the opening procedures of the insolvency against AYKA Construction related to the contractor agreement for the residential SOHO project
- Advised Intercora Group in relation to litigation and insolvency matters pertaining to the operation and lease of their asset portfolio, which included an insolvency claim against Domo and a civil claim against Proges.
- Advised Complexul Multifunctional Victoria, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe and owner of the America House Building, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of an office building in Bucharest (Victoriei Square – 27,000 sq.m.).
- Advised ERP Targu Mures, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe and owner of the Promenada Shopping Mall, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of a shopping mall in Targu Mures (51,350 sq.m.).
- Advised Vinarte, a top Romanian wine producer, throughout the reorganisation of a distressed company, including advice with respect to re-financing and rescheduling the company’s finances, as well as with distressed sales and the acquisition of assets.
Commercial and contractual litigation
We are highly specialised and experienced in commercial litigation and advise on a large number of high-value high-profile cases. We are renowned for our ability to co-ordinate advice from multiple jurisdictions. Most of our commercial litigation work falls within the scope of construction and infrastructure, energy, financial services, white-collar crime and investigations, M&A and shareholder disputes.
Keys Contact
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Luiza Ionescu-Donoiu
Counsel
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Complexul Multifunctional Victoria, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe and owner of the America House Building, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of an office building in Bucharest (Victoriei Square – 27,000 sq.m.)
- Advised ERP Targu Mures, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe and owner of the Promenada Shopping Mall, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of a shopping mall located in Targu Mures (51,350 sq.m.)
- Advised one of the most important professional cleaning and waste management companies in Romania in contractual disputes relating to a cancellation claim of a connected party agreement.
- Advised an important Romanian investment fund in a shareholder dividends’ dispute with the State Authority Assets Administration in relation to a Romanian company.
- Advised a leading insurance company acting in Romania in relation to an unlawful insurance claim under a public procurement construction agreement.
Real estate litigation
Our real estate litigation team is part of our renowned dispute resolution and real estate advisory group.
We have extensive experience in dealing with litigation and arbitration matters across the full range of real estate issues, such as permit and zoning disputes with the authorities, interpretation of property documents, disputes with contractors and the termination of agreements.
We are able to advise all types of clients in the sector, including institutional landlords, major tenants, banks, financial institutions, insolvency practitioners and professional advisers, and we ensure our advice is specifically tailored to the needs of each client.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Assisting Hervis Sports & Fashion S.R.L., the biggest sports retail chain in Romania, in obtaining an unprecedented decision by the Cluj Specialised Tribunal, with the grant of an injunction for the deferred payment of part of the rent relating to premises at the Vivo Shopping Center in Cluj, owned by commercial real estate group Immofinanz.
- Assisting in all elements of the expropriation process to ensure that our client, a real estate developer, receives appropriate compensation. We challenged the original decision to expropriate, assessed the adequacy of the compensation offer and obtained higher compensation for our client as a result.
- Assisting World Class Romania in relation to litigation involving the operation and lease of their asset management portfolio of shopping malls in Brasov.
- Assisting an investment company, part of an international investment group, with litigation and insolvency matters involving the operation and lease of their asset management portfolio of shopping malls in several countries.
- Assisting a leading construction company in Bucharest in litigation on FIDIC contractual matters arising from a construction agreement with a local public authority, following a public procurement procedure.
- Assisting a leading company in the Bucharest exclusive residential property market, in front of the Romanian courts of justice against the Bucharest City Hall, in order to alter the Urban Planning for protected areas and ensure the protection of their ownership of a piece of real estate of approx. 4200 sq. m.
Employment litigation
Our employment litigation team has experience and expertise in protecting clients’ rights regarding collective and individual claims and bargaining disputes. We develop individual dispute resolution strategies, striving to find the most appropriate solutions for each client through either litigation or alternative methods of dispute resolution.
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised and represented a well known wine producer and distributor in disputes concerning dismissal decisions, the rights to salary payments and the reinstatement and payment of various salary related bonuses.
- Advised and represented the local leader in the fitness industry with litigation concerning dismissal decisions and various rights regarding payment of salary.
- Advised and represented the leading global provider of dialysis medical services and the largest provider of medical services in various litigation concerning disciplinary decisions.
- Advised and represented a well-known international cargo transport services company, operating in more than 4 countries, with litigation initiated by the workers’ union on pay per day allowances and various salary rights.
- Advised and represented the Romanian subsidiary of a well-known German retail, wholesale and carry group with a restructuring operation and providing legal advice in connection with various employment issues, including employment litigation and dispute resolution.
- Advised and represented a local subsidiary of an international pharmaceutical company with a number of employment cases initiated by one of their top managers claiming various salary rights.
Keys Contact
Andrei Albulescu
Partner
Adriana Florentina Dobre
Partner
Luiza Ionescu-Donoiu
Counsel
Anca Ulea
Managing Associate
Reputational damage lawsuits – VIP litigation
Our daring legal expertise stems from defamation of character lawsuits, including libel or slander, for a broad range of clients, including public individuals, politicians and legal entities. We aim to obtain both interim measures for the suspension of defamatory content, as well as actual, presumed or punitive damages for particularly egregious conduct and for deterring such conduct in the future. Such cases may also involve preliminary procedures before national authorities vested with the ability to correct the malicious conduct by sanctioning the audio-visual operator used for proliferating the injurious content.
Our experienced attorneys will know how to put on the best case, to ensure the best outcomes, by using in-depth knowledge of evidence rules and targeted legal strategy.
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Our Relevant Experience
- Successfully assisting and representing a highly renowned individual who owns several national newspapers in a libel and slander dispute against a TV channel, its moderators and another politician, before the Romanian Audiovisual Council and before Romanian courts. We obtained interim measures for retracting the injurious content and contraventional sanctions were applied against the TV channel.
- Successfully assisting and representing a highly renowned individual who acts as director of a well-known Romanian club, in libel and slander disputes against a TV channel, its moderators and another politician, before the Romanian Audiovisual Council and before Romanian courts. We obtained interim measures for retracting the injurious content and contraventional sanctions were applied against the TV channel.
- Successfully assisting and representing a company active in the field of entertainment, in libel and slander disputes against a TV channel, its moderators and another politician, before the Romanian Audiovisual Council and before Romanian courts. We obtained interim measures for retracting the injurious content and contraventional sanctions were applied against the TV channel.
- Successfully assisting and representing various Romanian politicians in libel and slander disputes initiated against press and media channels.
Insurance litigation
In the field of insurance, perhaps more than in other fields, it is relevant for the lawyer to closely know the profile of his client’s activity – insurance – reinsurance company, in order to understand in what form he can adapt his skills to the client’s needs. In this regard, our team has extensive experience, as a result of assisting insurers both in terms of the procedures for setting up and authorization before the FSA, and on the disputes’ side, before the courts and arbitral tribunals.
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Our Relevant Experience
- Assistance and successful representation of famous insurance – reinsurance companies in disputes arising from the legal relations between the damaged persons and the car repair units,
- Assistance and successful representation of famous insurance – reinsurance companies in contractual disputes, which aim to cancel and establish the absolute nullity of contracts concluded with various collaborators, specific to the field,
- Assistance and successful representation of some famous insurance – reinsurance companies in litigations aimed at commencing the bankruptcy proceedings of insurers,
- Assistance and successful representation of renowned insurance – reinsurance companies in litigation and arbitration disputes with injured persons, deriving from MTPL and construction insurance policies,
- Assistance and successful representation of some famous insurance – reinsurance companies in litigations regarding the establishment of the compensation value in case of insurance policies regarding maritime damages and Business interruption insurance.
