Case Study: National Oil Company of Venezuela  

The national oil company of Venezuela asked DGS to represent it in a multi-billion dollar dispute concerning oil and gas rights in the south Caribbean Sea.  The American plaintiff asserted business tort and antitrust claims against the Venzuelan companies as well as certain downstream American subsidiaries.  However, the real thrust of the case involved the determination of maritime boundaries between Venezuela and Grenada.  

We formed a multi-disciplinary team of DGS lawyers with international and antitrust experience to represent these clients.  The legal issues involved foreign sovereign immunity, lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, failure of international service, forum non conveniens, and international comity.  In terms of the amount allegedly at issue, the dispute is one of the largest in Colorado history.  We obtained a complete dismissal of the case at an early stage, which was reported at 2004 WL 2267216, 338 F. Supp. 2d 1208 (D. Colo. 2004).