On July 30, 2024, Judge Keith Ellison sanctioned Ghanaian oil company Springfield Exploration & Production Ltd. in § 1782 discovery proceedings brought by Eni Ghana Exploration Limited and Vitol Upstream Ghana Limited. The Court held that Springfield had acted in bad faith by misrepresenting the nature of the § 1782 proceedings to a Ghanaian court and ordered Springfield to pay the attorneys’ fees and costs incurred by Eni and Vitol as a result of Springfield’s bad faith conduct.
Eni and Vitol originally filed the § 1782 application in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas seeking discovery in relation to a “Competent Person’s Report” authored by Gaffney Cline. Springfield had first cited (but did not exhibit) the report in Ghanaian court proceedings in support of its effort to “unitize” or jointly develop its unappraised oil discovery with a highly productive oilfield operated by Eni and Vitol.
Springfield intervened in the § 1782 proceedings and objected to the discovery on grounds of confidentiality. Three Crowns succeeded in defeating Springfield’s opposition, including an emergency appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Ellison granted the § 1782 application and entered a Protective Order to address Springfield’s confidentiality concerns. The Protective Order required Eni and Vitol to file any designated documents under seal in the Ghanaian court proceedings.
After Gaffney Cline produced the § 1782 discovery, Eni applied to file the evidence in the Ghanaian court under seal. Springfield opposed Eni’s sealing application based on false and misleading grounds, including that Springfield was not a party to the § 1782 proceedings, that Eni was attempting to “enforce” a foreign order for Gaffney Cline to produce documents in Ghana, and that the § 1782 discovery was irrelevant to the Ghanaian court proceedings.
To overcome Springfield’s obstruction, Eni and Vitol applied to modify the sealing requirement in the Protective Order. Judge Ellison allowed the modification. In parallel, Springfield’s counsel applied to withdraw from the case. Eni and Vitol objected to the withdrawal as it would leave Springfield unrepresented. Judge Ellison held that Springfield’s counsel could not withdraw until Springfield appointed replacement counsel.
Eni and Vitol also sought sanctions against Springfield, including in the form of attorneys’ fees and costs. Judge Ellison found that sanctions were warranted in light of Springfield’s bad faith conduct and ordered Springfield to pay Eni’s and Vitol’s attorneys’ fees and costs in relation to the modification of the protective order, the withdrawal of Springfield’s counsel, and the sanctions proceedings.
The Three Crowns team comprised partner Luke Sobota, of counsel Donald Childress, and associate Isha Jain.
ABOUT LUKE SOBOTA
A founding partner of Three Crowns, Luke represents private and sovereign clients in some of their largest and most important commercial, investor-State, and inter-State arbitrations, including the successful prosecution of one of the largest ICC cases in history. He also has more than 20 years of experience litigating international issues in U.S. courts. Luke is also a Senior Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law. Among other publications, he is the co-author of the second edition International Arbitration: Three Salient Problems (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and General Principles of Law and International Due Process (Oxford University Press, 2017).
Luke is ranked by Chambers, which describes him as an “extraordinarily intelligent” attorney who “draws extensive praise for his advocacy skills, with clients affirming that ‘his analysis and strategic view is outstanding.’” Who’s Who Legal has recognised him a “sharp intellectual” who “is praised for his fantastic analytical and writing abilities”. The Legal 500 writes that Luke “is extremely smart and a great strategic thinker” and is “an excellent draftsman”.
ABOUT DONALD CHILDRESS
Trey is Of Counsel based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. His practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation, public international law, and private international law (conflict of laws). Trey has briefed and argued cases as counsel before the International Court of Justice and has consulted as an expert on various matters before international arbitral tribunals, with particular experience in PCA and ICSID-administered arbitrations. He has appeared as counsel before courts throughout the United States, including the United States Supreme Court, and has appeared as an expert before various courts outside of the United States. Trey was the 28th Counselor on International Law to the Legal Adviser at the U.S. State Department, which involved advising on the formulation of the government’s arbitration and litigation strategy. He also represented the United States before international bodies, including as part of the U.S. delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group III (regarding reforms to Investor-State Dispute Settlement), before the Council of Europe’s Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI), and in the Diplomatic Session of the Hague Judgments Convention.
ABOUT ISHA JAIN
Isha is a special legal consultant based in the Washington, DC office. She has experience in international commercial and investor-State arbitrations across a range of industries, including energy, construction, and intellectual property.
Isha holds an LLM from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded the Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize for the best student paper on a topic related to dispute resolution. She also holds an LLB from the National Law School of India University. In the 2018 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot, she won the Stephen M. Schwebel award for best oralist in the world championship round. Isha is published in leading international law journals, including the Leiden Journal of International Law and Arbitration International.