Venezuela asks UK court to lift Exxon asset freeze
Legal World
Venezuela's state oil company has asked a British court to lift a $12 billion freeze granted to U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil pending arbitration over the seizure of oil fields in the South American country.
Leftist President Hugo Chavez told foreign oil companies last year to cede a majority stake in oil projects or leave the country. Most agreed and accepted bids for stakes in their projects from PDVSA that analysts said were below market value. Exxon opted to pull out rather than concede and has applied for international arbitration to win damages.
Acting for PDVSA, lawyer Gordon Pollock told the court, "It is not the role or function of the English courts to offer worldwide freezing orders" to anyone who asked for them.
Pollock said the English court had stretched beyond its jurisdiction in this instance given such asset freezes were normally only awarded in cases involving "egregious fraud".
"This is not a fraud case ... it is a contractual dispute." In Caracas, Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Venezuela made three basic arguments against the ruling.
Finally, he said such freezes were used against companies in financial difficulties, which was not the case for PDVSA -- a company industry analysts believe can easily pay Exxon compensation for its seized assets.
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Is Now the Time to Really Call a Special Education Lawyer?
IDEA, FAPE, CHILD FIND and IEPs: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE starts with a school’s responsibility to identify that a child has a disability (Child Find) and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to suit the needs of the child.
Forte Law Group is one of only a very few law firms within the state of Connecticut that is dedicated to exclusively representing families and children with special needs.
Parents need to be persistent, dedicated and above all else aware of the many services and accommodations that their child is entitled to under the law. As early as this point within your child’s special education, many parents will often find themselves in the situation asking, “is now the time to really call a special education lawyer?” Here are a few things to consider when asking yourself that question.