The Chinese joint venture Wahaha Group, which is involved in a long-lasting dispute with Danone, announced that it has received a new adjudication order from the High Court of the British Virgin Islands. By the decision of the BVI court, the claim of Danone was rejected, and the interim freezing of Chinese group’s assets was revoked, along with the order that would allow KPMG to take over the assets of Wahaha’s non-joint ventures as the receiver.
The previous decision of the BVI Court on asset freezing was based on the words of the Chairman of Danone Asia Pacific Management, while the defendant – Wahaha Group – was absent from the court. KPMG then allegedly violated China’s judicial sovereignty by sending BVI and Samoa court orders without the permission of the Chinese authorities. Now, after another claim was made in the BVI High Court and the judgment was pronounced more than one month ago, KPMG is still yet to apologize and provide the required financial compensation to Wahaha.
On December 17, 2008, the BVI High Court opened the court case which overruled Danone’s claim. The adjudication order, which went into effect on December 19, not only made the freezing and receiving orders invalid, but also requested Danone to pay related fees that Wahaha incurred during the case. Additionally, the Chinese group will have the right to decide whether or not to cease if Danone fails to submit a stay pending appeal to the appellate court within 2 weeks.
Legal councel of Wahaha Yang commented on the new verdict of the High Court of BVI, saying that it showed fairness and justice of the international judicial environment and that it will definitely affect the results of the Stockholm arbitration case.