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Saudi Basic Industries Corp. v. Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Co.1/14/2005
ted "forcefully and with the victim's knowledge" (as distinguished from usurpation by secrecy or stealth), and (2) here, SABIC had acted secretively and without the victims' knowledge.
The Superior Court denied that motion, ruling that (a) the court's determination of the Saudi law elements of ghasb on which it based the jury instruction was the culmination of many months of study, research, discussion and extensive expert testimony on Saudi law, including a separate live hearing on the subject; (b) the court'srejection of the elements of "knowledge" and "force" advocated by SABIC was "consistent with the classical Hanbali authorities that would be followed by a Saudi judge;" and (c) the jury verdict was not against the great weight of the evidence and indeed, was amply supported by the evidence.
In its second (renewed) motion for judgment as a matter of law or, alternatively, a new trial or remittitur, SABIC contended that the damages award of $324 million (which SABIC characterizes as "enhanced damages"), was unprecedented under Saudi law and, therefore, the jury should not have been allowed to award damages above the actual $92 million overcharge. Alternatively, SABIC argued, it was entitled to a new trial wherein the jury would be given adequate instructions on enhanced damages, rather than being led to believe that an enhanced damage award follows automatically once the elements of ghasb are established. Those instructions (SABIC urged) should include a list of six factors that a Saudi judge would consider, plus the admonition that "enhanced damages" are permitted only under the most "unusual or egregious of circumstances."
The Superior Court denied SABIC's motion, finding that its jury instruction relating to ghasb damages was correct and that the ghasb damages award was not against the great weight of the evidence. Specifically, the trial judge ruled that: (a) SABIC's argument that damages for ghasb are virtually unprecedented and rarely awarded in the Saudi legal system, was unsubstantiated, unverifiable and irrelevant; (b) the jury instruction properly left any award of usurpation damages to the jury's discretion; (c) the six factors on which SABIC argued that the Court should have instructed the jury had no foundation in Saudi law as determined after a studied analysis based upon the authoritative texts; and (d) instructing the jury on the factors advocated by SABIC would be misleading and, in some cases, would invite inappropriate speculation.
c. Proceedings After The Filing of This Appeal
After it commenced this appeal, SABIC filed a motion in this Court to supplement the record to include what SABIC characterized as an "official statement of Saudi Arabian law issued by the Ministry of Justice of Saudi Arabia." That "official statement" had never been presented to, or considered by, the trial court whose determinations of Saudi law had become final, subject only to review by this Court. SABIC's motion was also filed without leave of this Court. ExxonMobil vigorously opposed the motion. Weeks later, SABIC filed a motion to remand the case to the trial court to reconsider certain of SABIC's post trial motions for judgment as a matter of law, or alternatively for a new trial, in light of its newly-filed "official statement of Saudi law." This Court denied both motions as procedurally improper on January 29, 2004.
ANALYSIS OF SABIC'S CLAIMS OF ERROR
(1) THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS RULINGS
(a) The Issues Presented
Before the trial, SABIC moved for summary judgment as a matter of law on the ground that the application of Delaware's borrowing statute resulted in ExxonMobil's twenty-plus year ol
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Delaware Personal Injury Attorneys
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