Acted on behalf of several multinational corporations in high-profile criminal customs disputes involving the assessment and calculation of customs duties and penalties. In addition to our representation in active customs investigations and inquiries, our customs experts regularly counsel clients in a variety of compliance and operational matters related to the import and export of goods and services in Thailand.
Dispute Resolution and Litigation
Tilleke & Gibbins fights for the rights and assets that matter most—from large monetary sums to crucial business relationships to invaluable intellectual property rights to personal freedom. And we win before trial and appellate judges, arbitrators, government adjudicators, and at negotiation tables. We are a litigation powerhouse.
We assemble lean, focused teams comprised of experienced litigators, specialized practitioners, and, as our most valuable member, our client. We collaborate with each client to develop a strategy that matches the client’s particular goals and budget. We staff our litigation teams with multilingual attorneys to ensure fluent, effective client communication.
Our size, experience level, and depth permit us to handle an active caseload covering the full spectrum of civil and criminal matters. As a firm, we offer our clients over 120 years of litigating the most challenging cases in the region, 28 top litigators, and access to over 70 other legal experts. We are dedicated to finding the facts that matter, making the arguments that prevail, and taking each case through to successful resolution.
Among our recent victories, Tilleke & Gibbins has:
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Represented an American manufacturing conglomerate in four complex defective product claims in Thailand. In all cases we successfully defended the client and secured favorable judgments after comprehensive trials in connection with power generation equipment with a value of approximately USD 3,000,000 each.
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Negotiated a favorable settlement of a highly contested termination of a company director involving our client, the director, and the company of the spouse of the director. The dispute included two criminal cases and two civil cases (one of which involved a claim of THB 20,000,000). We successfully gathered evidence of the director’s misconduct and leveraged that evidence to secure a favorable settlement for our client.
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Represented an industry leader in edible coatings. Our client purchased products from a supplier, the quality of which was certified by a third party. Although the third party was dismissed from the case by a lower court, we successfully convinced the Supreme Court to amend the judgment below and hold the third party liable for failing to examine the product.
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Represented a well-known Japanese manufacturer in the prosecution of both civil and criminal matters related to use of confidential trade secret and theft of client property. Our client reached a favorable settlement in the civil claims. In the criminal matter, we worked with the police and the public prosecutor and successfully secured sufficient evidence to support prosecution of the criminal claims.
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Represented the precious metals division of a large Japanese multinational corporation in claims it filed against its shipper and freight forwarder for the loss of gold dram.
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Represented an international investment banking and asset management company in recovering funds provided to a Thai property developer (claims total USD 15,000,000).
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Planned and executed the layoff of 1,900 employees. Thereafter, 279 of the affected employees submitted claims against the client in the total amount of THB 300,000,000. We successfully proved that our client had cause to terminate its employees and that such was done fully within applicable Thai law, resulting in judgment in our client’s favor. This was a high-stakes matter because, if we had lost the labor cases, the approximately 1,600 additional employees would have filed claims totaling approximately THB 2,000,000,000. We also act as ongoing labor compliance counsel.
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Protected the right of a charitable foundation to a newly-constructed center for disabled persons and preserved all of the benefits that flowed from the center to the community and needy persons. The foundation purchased a plot of land and constructed a center on the land to benefit disabled persons. Before the transfer of the property, but after the building was completed, the land was attached by a judgment creditor. The court of first instance and the appellate court declined to release the land. With little hope of success, the foundation came to our firm. We convinced the Supreme Court that the land should be released because the foundation had a preferential right. The land and the center for the disabled was returned to the foundation.
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Defended a global multi-industry company against an international insurance provider in four civil cases pertaining to gas turbine engines, and led the court to dismiss all four claims.
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Represented a subcontractor in a construction dispute against the prime contractor of a controversial wastewater management project (claims exceed USD 33,000,000).
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Assisted a client whose wife had abducted his daughter and wrongfully withheld assets valued at over USD 1,000,000. We successfully mediated this case, which involved both family and criminal matters. The parties agreed to a divorce and the daughter was returned to our client.
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Represented a foreign brewery in a dispute against a local brewery pertaining to a joint venture agreement. The local brewery alleged that our client had terminated the joint venture improperly and took the case to arbitration. Our litigation strategy (based on both the issue of termination and the issue of bad faith) gave us leverage to successfully settle the case.
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Negotiated the resolution of a large medical malpractice claim involving several health professionals.
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Defended one of the leading global hotel management companies in a civil lawsuit for trademark infringement brought by a well-known real estate development company in Thailand. With our strong legal arguments and reliable documents and evidence, we convinced the IP&IT Court that our client was entitled to use its trade name and trademark in connection with its hotel business. The civil lawsuit was dismissed and the Trademark Registrar granted the registration of our client’s trademark application according to the judgment of the IP&IT Court.
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Secured a victory for the top producer of welding electrodes in Thailand against a local infringer in a landmark case before the Supreme Court of Thailand. The client’s resounding success may be attributed to the defensive strategy of using multiple separate trademark registrations to collectively cover the entire package design.
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Represented our client before the IP&IT Court and obtained a very favorable settlement just prior to the rendering of judgment in what has been widely regarded as the largest and most complex patent infringement case in Thai history. In this multijurisdictional case, our team not only secured a rare Anton Piller order to seize infringing goods, which enabled us to successfully prove infringement, but also formulated extensive strategies for protecting the validity of our client’s patent.
| Name | Position | Office |
Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thawat Damsa-ard |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5500 |
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John King |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5502 |
|
Srila Thongklang |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5529 |
|
Timothy Wales |
Consultant | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5555 |
|
David Lyman |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5597 |
|
Tiziana Sucharitkul |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5777 |
|
Chitchai Punsan |
Associate | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5779 |
|
Ukrit Petpichetchian |
Associate | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5782 |
|
Aaron Le Marquer |
Consultant | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5784 |
|
Sasirusm (Roll) B. Chunhakasikarn |
Associate | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5785 |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| March 19, 2012 |
Asset Valuation and Appraisals Seminar on March 28: Returning to Normal After the Floods John King Tilleke & Gibbins will be participating in the seminar “Returning to Normal: Fast Resolution of Insurance Claims and How to Maximize Recovery of Flood Damaged Assets.” Scheduled for March 28... |
| April 3, 2012 |
Chusert Supasitthumrong to Speak at Ideal Forum Labor Law Event Chusert Supasitthumrong Chusert Supasitthumrong, an Attorney-at-Law with the Tilleke & Gibbins Dispute Resolution group, will be a featured speaker at Ideal Forum’s second annual “Labor Law and Wage Updates 2012”... |
| May 29, 2012 |
Tilleke & Gibbins Partners Discuss the Thai Pharmaceutical Industry Darani Vachanavuttivong, Tiziana Sucharitkul, Alan Adcock The Thai pharmaceutical industry is characterized by its expanding yet challenging landscape. Amidst growing medical tourism and strong R&D centers in the Asia Pacific region, issues related... |
| June 7, 2012 |
Tilleke & Gibbins Associate to Speak at Employment Law Summit Chusert Supasitthumrong On June 20, 2012, Chusert Supasitthumrong, an associate in the Tilleke & Gibbins dispute resolution department, will be speaking at the Employment Law, Contracts & Labor Relations 2012... |
| June 21, 2012 |
Tilleke & Gibbins Dispute Resolution Team Highly Recommended by PLC Which Lawyer In PLC Which Lawyer’s 2012 Dispute Resolution rankings, Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized and highly recommended as among the top dispute resolution and litigation practices in... |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| June 2, 2011 |
Ownership of Trade Secrets in Thailand Nandana Indananda, Kawin Kanchanapairoj Thailand’s desire to increase its competitiveness as an investment destination has led to the passage of the Trade Secret Act 2002 (TSA). The TSA is the most recent law on the protection of... |
| June 3, 2011 |
Corporate Relocation: An Employer Perspective Chusert Supasitthumrong Corporate relocation is common in Thailand. Despite their best intentions, however, many employers find themselves in violation of Thai labour laws during the relocation process. This article... |
| June 17, 2011 |
Arbitration: An Investment in the Future Michael Ramirez Most parties to a contract may not appreciate the importance of a properly drafted arbitration clause until they find themselves in a dispute. International arbitration has become a principal... |
| August 10, 2011 |
Getting the Deal Through – Dispute Resolution 2011, Thailand Chapter Thawat Damsa-ard, Noppramart Thammateeradaycho Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Limited. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through – Dispute Resolution (published in... |
| July 11, 2012 |
Guide to Doing Business in Thailand for Japanese Investors Pimvimol (June) Vipamaneerut, Sriwan Puapondh, Chaiwat Keratisuthisathorn, Charunun Sathitsuksomboon, Ampolphan Sriduangchan, Kobkit Thienpreecha, Titikaan Ungbhakorn This Japanese-language Guide to Doing Business in Thailand was prepared by Tilleke & Gibbins in collaboration with Nishimura & Asahi, the Lex Mundi member firm for Japan. Written for... |
