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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Chusert Supasitthumrong |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5793 |
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David Lyman |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5597 |
|
John King |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5502 |
|
Nandana Indananda |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5879 |
|
Srila Thongklang |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5529 |
|
Thawat Damsa-ard |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5500 |
|
Thomas J. Treutler |
Partner | Hanoi |
+84 4 3772 5633 |
|
Tiziana Sucharitkul |
Partner | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5777 |
|
Alongkorn Tongmee |
Associate | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5807 |
|
Areeya Pornwiriyangkura |
Associate | Bangkok |
+66 2653 5882 |
Date |
Title |
|---|---|
| December 7, 2011 |
A Moment in Tilleke & Gibbins History: Rita Nightingale Case David Lyman In 1980, Tilleke & Gibbins played a pivotal role in securing justice for Rita Nightingale, a British expatriate who was imprisoned for 34 months in Thailand on drug trafficking charges. Ms.... |
| November 9, 2011 |
Tilleke & Gibbins Dispute Resolution Practice Awarded Top-Tier Ranking by Asialaw Profiles Asialaw Profiles, a guide to the leading law firms throughout Asia, has ranked Tilleke & Gibbins as a Tier 1 firm in the Dispute Resolution practice in Thailand. This annual ranking... |
| November 4, 2011 |
Eight Tilleke & Gibbins Attorneys Honored by Legal 500 Piyanuj (Lui) Ratprasatporn, Tiziana Sucharitkul, Thawat Damsa-ard, Chinachart Vatanasuchart, Darani Vachanavuttivong, Alan Adcock, Jeffrey J. Blatt, Sriwan Puapondh In the 2011 edition of The Legal 500 Asia Pacific, eight Tilleke & Gibbins attorneys were recognized as leading practitioners in their areas of practice in Thailand. This included:... |
| October 20, 2011 |
John King Speaks at Contract Management Seminar John King Writing and managing a commercial contract can be a process fraught with potential pitfalls. To explore some of the complex factors involved, Asia Business Connect organized the “Contract... |
| August 22, 2011 |
Tilleke & Gibbins Handles Asia IP Landmark Case of the Year for Thailand Darani Vachanavuttivong, Nandana Indananda, Srila Thongklang, Areeya Pornwiriyangkura, Yuwadee Thean-ngarm Noting the impact of IP judgments and settlements in Asia, Asia IP has recognized a civil patent litigation matter handled by Tilleke & Gibbins as one of Thailand’s landmark cases of... |
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Date |
Title |
|---|---|
| February 15, 2012 |
Supreme Court Finds “Bull” Marks Not to Be Confusingly Similar Parichart Monaiyakul This article first appeared on WTR Daily, part of World Trademark Review, in December 2011. For further information, please visit... |
| February 10, 2012 |
Compensation in a Wrongful Death Case Wrongful death claims can result in the assessment of civil and criminal penalties on parties that may be far removed from the negligent actor. The impact could be seen on officers and directors,... |
| January 4, 2012 |
Lex Mundi Guide to Doing Business in Thailand 2012 This guide provides a detailed overview of doing business in Thailand. Topics covered in the guide include investment, import and export regulations, exchange controls, tax, requirements for... |
| December 30, 2011 |
Laying Off Employees: Considerations for Manufacturers Chusert Supasitthumrong As companies start to rebuild and recover from the recent devastating floods, many managers are taking a good hard look at their bottom line, searching for ways to survive and minimize loss. This... |
| December 23, 2011 |
PLC Doing Business in … Multi-Jurisdictional Guide 2012 – Thailand Chapter Sriwan Puapondh, Hiranrat Chakartnarodom, David Duncan, Chaiwat Keratisuthisathorn, Michael Ramirez, Anake Rattanajitbanjong This chapter provides an overview of the legal system and key laws for foreign companies doing business in Thailand. Presented in a question-and-answer format, the chapter examines the rules... |
