Paul, Weiss is widely recognized as having one of the nation’s preeminent securities litigation and regulatory practices. For two decades, our lawyers have guided global corporations and financial institutions through a series of “bet-the-company” securities-related crises, consistently reducing or eliminating their most damaging claims and negotiating favorable resolutions.
Paul, Weiss Wins $78 Million Judgment for Oaktree Capital on Counterclaims Against Taiwanese Shipping Magnate
- Client News
- May 23, 2019
Practices
Paul, Weiss won a $78 million judgment against a Taiwanese shipping magnate on behalf of our client Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. The summary judgment victory arose in a litigation that Taiwanese businessman Hsin Chi Su (a.k.a. Nobu Su) filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas against Oaktree and in which Oaktree asserted counterclaims against Nobu Su.
The litigation stems from the bankruptcy proceedings of various Nobu Su-owned corporations that owned and operated shipping vessels. In 2010, those corporations obtained loans, personally guaranteed by Nobu Su, to finance the purchase of the ships, which served as collateral. An Oaktree affiliate later acquired nearly all of the corporations’ debt under the loan facilities.
In 2013, the corporations filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, which subsequently approved the ships’ sale and authorized Oaktree to “credit-bid” its debt in order to acquire them. Nobu Su then brought an adversary proceeding against Oaktree, among other defendants, alleging that the bankruptcy court’s order approving the ships’ sale improperly extinguished his right to protect patents he claimed to hold on certain technology used on the ships. Oaktree asserted counterclaims against Nobu Su, seeking to enforce the guarantees executed by Nobu Su in connection with the loans that financed the ships. Oaktree moved to dismiss Nobu Su’s claims for failure to state a claim. In December 2018, the court granted that motion and dismissed Nobu Su’s claims.
After oral argument on Oaktree’s motion for summary judgment on its counterclaims, the judge granted Oaktree’s motion and entered a judgment against Nobu Su in the amount of approximately $78 million, plus post-judgment interest.
The Paul, Weiss team included, among others, litigation partners Andrew Ehrlich and Gregory Laufer, who argued the summary judgment motion; and bankruptcy partner Elizabeth McColm.