Nevis Court strikes out UC RUSAL claim against Norilsk Nickel

MMC Norilsk Nickel, JSC announced that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries Corbiere Holdings Limited and Raleigh Investments Inc. have successfully defeated all claims filed against them by United Company RUSAL Plc and United Company RUSAL Investment Management LLC (together, “RUSAL”) in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of the High Court of Justice of St. Christopher & Nevis

The judgment was delivered on November 11, 2011 and came into effect upon its adoption by the court. The proceedings were discontinued.

RUSAL filed its case against Corbiere and Raleigh on February 1, 2011, and has since amended its pleadings on two occasions. RUSAL’s most recent amended case argued that Corbiere and Raleigh had engaged in a “tortuous conspiracy” aimed at harming RUSAL. The Nevis Court struck out these claims on the grounds that their prospects of success were “fanciful” and that they were “bound to fail and had no prospect of succeeding”. Evidently, in this case, RUSAL’s goal was infringement of Corbiere and Raleigh’s rights as well as those of MMC Norilsk Nickel and its shareholders. The Nevis court came to a conclusion that conflicts concerning this issue “must be resolved by the Board of Directors (of Norilsk Nickel) and not by the Nevis High Court”.

RUSAL has also filed cases against MMC Norilsk Nickel, its shareholders and partners in the courts of Krasnoyarsk, London, New York, Amsterdam, Bellinzona (Switzerland).

Last week, general jurisdiction Court in Amsterdam has also struck out RUSAL’s claims against Trafigura, MMC Norilsk Nickel’s partner company.

MMC Norilsk Nickel announced that in light of the Judgment delivered by Nevis Court, the group has filed a claim against RUSAL to compensate its legal expenses and damages associated with the imposition of interim measures.

ABOUT MMC NORILSK NICKEL:

MMC Norilsk Nickel, a company incorporated under the laws of the Russian Federation, is the largest diversified mining and metals company in Russia, the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium and one of the world's largest producers of platinum, rhodium, copper and cobalt. In addition to this, MMC Norilsk Nickel produces a large number of other by-products, including gold, silver, tellurium, selenium, iridium and ruthenium.
The key production units of the Company’s group in Russia are at the Polar and Kola Peninsulas. MMC Norilsk Nickel international assets include operations in Finland, Australia, Botswana and South Africa.