22nd November, 2020
US District Court for Southern District of Texas has dismissed an $18 billion arbitral award brought against Saudi Aramco by heirs to Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani.
The heirs were trying to enforce the award. Judgment was delivered 17 November, Aramco said.
The lawsuit was filed by Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani, Waleed Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani, Ahmed Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani.
Others are Shaha Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani, Naoum Al Doha Khalid Abu Al Waleed Al Hood Al Qarqani, and Nisreen Mustafa Jawad Zikri.
Gulf News reported that the claim was filed on June 1, 2018, to enforce a purported foreign arbitral award, according to a filing by Aramco at Saudi bourse.
The dispute involved rent payments allegedly due to petitioners for Saudi Aramco’s operations on a plot of land in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia.
This ruling is still subject to challenge, including appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Saudi Aramco believes that its arguments are sound, well supported, and should be sustained if the petitioners elect to challenge the ruling.