Ricardo Ugarte

Commercial Arbitration

• Represented a Canadian oil and gas development company in a US$1.8B UNCITRAL ad hoc arbitration against a major Chinese oil company on disputes arising from a high-stakes coal-bed methane (CBM) and shale gas production sharing contract.
• Represented a multinational electronic corporation in a high-profile ICC arbitration of contract claims brought by a multinational technology company concerning the global sale of batteries for use in mobile phones.
• Represented a major U.S. restaurant chain in an ICC arbitration involving a franchisee with operations in Eastern Europe. We obtained 100% of damages sought in favor of our client.
• Represented a major U.S. mobile device manufacturer in a US$1B ICC commercial arbitration against a Chinese telecom company arising out of alleged trade secret violations following the acquisition of a wireless network business by another competing telecom company. The arbitration was seated in Geneva, Switzerland and governed under Swiss law.
• Represented a U.S. pharmaceutical company in an ICC arbitration brought by a Swiss company seeking compensation for alleged underpayments of royalty fees.
• Represented a U.S. pharmaceutical company in an ICC arbitration filed by a Japanese pharmaceutical company. The arbitration arose out of a contract for the sale of a drug impacting the Asian market.
• Represented a U.S. pharmaceutical company in an ICC arbitration arising out a distribution agreement governed under New York law, which resulted in a dismissal of all claims against our client.
• Represented a Nigerian pension fund in an ICC arbitration involving an alleged breach of a shareholder subscription agreement under English law, which resulted in a favorable settlement for our client.
• Represented a Mexican gas company in ICC arbitration arising out of the purported breach of a natural gas purchase and delivery agreement governed by New York law.
• Represented a central Asian oil company in an ICC arbitration involving a joint operation agreement for an oilfield in Kazakhstan. Obtained a complete dismissal of all claims against our client.

Investor-State Arbitration

• Represented the Kingdom of Jordan in two international arbitrations that arose out of a failed project to construct a modern railway between Amman and Zarqa, where claims of more than US$1B in damages were sought against our client. We obtained a discontinuance of the ICSID arbitration and an ICC award in favor of our client that earned Ricardo recognition for having obtained one of the top 10 “Biggest Defense Wins,” according to the American Lawyer’s Arbitration Scorecard.
• Represented a renewable energy investor in an investment treaty arbitration against Italy arising from Italy's sudden withdrawal of incentives that had been created for investors to invest in the construction of solar energy plants.
• Represented the claimant in an investment arbitration filed before ICSID alleging claims arising under the Jordan-Sudan and Lebanon-Sudan bilateral investment treaties. This was the first-ever investment treaty claim filed against the Republic of Sudan.
• Represented a publicly listed junior mining company in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Panama under the U.S.-Panama Bilateral Investment Treaty arising out of the company’s investment in a mineral concession in Western Panama.
• Represented PetroEcuador in an ICSID arbitration brought by an oil and gas company involving the imposition of a windfall tax on oil profits and collection proceedings. The damages claimed exceeded US$400M and was dismissed after a favorable settlement was reached.
• Represented the Republic of Ecuador in a UNCITRAL Rules investor-state arbitration under the U.S.-Ecuador BIT administered by the PCA. The Tribunal issued its final award, awarding less than five percent of the total amount requested by claimants.