The case is tried by the Bucharest Court and a final ruling might be issued in a few years.
In 2001-2005, Musat & Asociatii advised AVAS in a legal action brought against the Romanian state by Noble Ventures, which had won an auction for the privatization of steel maker Combinatul Siderurgic Resita.
In 2001, Noble Ventures, represented by John Michael McNutt, addressed the World Bank’s International Center For Settlement of Investment Disputes, accusing the state of breaching the U.S.-Romanian Bilateral Investment Treaty. The privatization was cancelled and the steel maker was later sold to Russian group TMK.
ICSID ruled in Romania’s favor and the state paid $8.9 million in legal expenses. The sum almost equals damages AAAS is now claiming from Musat & Asociatii.
The legal expenses paid by Noble Ventures amounted to $3.14 million and the court decided the parties involved would share obligations and pay equal shares.
In 2011, AVAS took Musat to court claiming $8.7 million plus interest from the law firm for failing to accomplish all its duties in that case.
Gheorghe Musat, the founder of the law firm, said AVAS’s legal action is “absurd and totally unjustified.”
According to Musat, the Romanian state wanted to bring Noble Ventures to justice claiming damages for harming its reputation. Romania claimed $8.7 million from Noble Ventures, and AVAS, advised by Musat & Asociatii and White & Case, decided not to file legal action, as the U.S company was undergoing liquidation.
According to Musat, AVAS accepted the recommendation made by its legal advisers, but the current management of the authority refuses to accept the facts.
(English version by Ioana Tudor)