Successfully Recovered Full Outstanding Fees for a Fortune Global 500 Service Giant
Our team recently achieved a significant victory for a Fortune Global 500 multinational company (the “Client”) by fully recovering long-overdue service fees from a Changshu-based company (the “Respondent”). The Respondent had persistently withheld payment, citing operational difficulties. Having exhausted all conventional recovery avenues and fearing the debt was irretrievable, the Client turned to our team for help with scant hope of recovering the funds.
- Arbitration and Property Preservation
Leveraging our expertise in foreign-related commercial disputes, we first advised the Client to resolve the dispute through arbitration immediately. Pursuant to the agreement between the parties, arbitration was not only a mandatory requirement for dispute resolution, but also the most efficient and enforceable method for this disputes. Crucially, before initiating arbitration, we secured a decisive property preservation order from the court, freezing the Respondent’s bank account and successfully preserving over RMB 60,000. While the amount preserved was merely over RMB 60,000, this measure exerted immense pressure on the Respondent. It effectively prevented asset dissipation and laid a robust foundation for subsequent enforcement.
- Enforcement on the sole shareholder
The arbitration proceedings concluded with a favorable arbitral award in the Client’s favor, affirming the Respondent’s liability to pay the full outstanding amount. Without delay, our team filed an application for enforcement with the local Intermediate People’s Court, which immediately froze all the Respondent’s assets and listed both the Respondent and its legal representative on the list of dishonest persons subject to enforcement. However, the Respondent still failed to repay the debt despite these measures. Subsequently, we discovered that the Respondent had a sole shareholder. Crucially, Article 23 of the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China stipulates that if such a shareholder cannot prove the company’s assets are independent from its own, it bears joint and several liability for the company’s debts. Since our client lacked an arbitration agreement with this shareholder company, we were unable to name it as a respondent in the prior arbitration. We further ascertained that the sole shareholder company remained operational and likely possessed significant assets. Consequently, we petitioned the court to add this entity as a party subject to enforcement, pursuing all necessary measures against it. Faced with the mounting pressure from the court’s enforcement actions, including those targeting its shareholder, the Respondent finally capitulated and settled with our client, swiftly remitted the entire overdue sum to the Client.
This result—achieved through meticulous planning, swift execution, and a client-centric approach—restored the Client’s confidence in the Chinese legal system. The Client expressed high praise for our team’s professionalism, noting that our “strategic preservation, strong litigation skills, and relentless enforcement efforts” were instrumental in recovering the funds they had deemed lost.
For foreign enterprises facing payment delays or disputes in China, our team’s proven track record in debt recovery through arbitration and enforcement offers a reliable solution. We remain committed to protecting the interests of multinational clients with tailored, effective legal strategies.
Email: sawaywang@billionslawyer.com
Tel/Whatsapp: +86 18017682422
Read More
