We advised an international oil trading company and its cooperation partner – a company operating the port terminal in Liepaja ‒ in multi-party negotiations for claims arising out of contamination of oil products.

About the dispute

The products were partially contaminated while they were being loaded on board ship. The dispute arose with regard to the quantity of contaminated product, as well as the degree of contamination and quality decrease. The case was also interesting as it related to complex calculations of the amount of damage.

Our involvement

Our tasks included co-operation with the terminal operator’s civil liability insurer and arranging the insurance indemnity payment. The case involved negotiations with companies from Latvia, Cyprus, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with contracts governed by different laws.

The case was resolved with a settlement agreement in which the client managed to significantly decrease the amount claimed, successfully arguing that Latvian law imposed the obligation for the claimant to mitigate its loss thus precluding claims which could have been reduced or evaded had the other party acted more diligently.

Our team

The client was advised by partner Valts Nerets with senior associates Santa Rubīna and Agita Sprūde.