Court rejects Total bankruptcy petition<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Commercial Court has ruled in favor of oil and gas
\nproducer Total E&P Indonesie on Tuesday over a bankruptcy
\npetition filed by two of the company's contractors.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges declared the bankruptcy petition to have
\nno legal basis, citing the lack of evidence establishing a
\ncontractual relationship between Total and the first plaintiff,
\nPT Istana Karang Laut (IKL).<\/p>\n
The court also declared that the case should have been
\nsubmitted to the district court as it was a civil suit that
\nneeded to prove that there was an outstanding debt owed by Total
\nto the contractors.<\/p>\n
\"The bankruptcy petition is baseless. Therefore, the court has
\ndecided to reject it,\" presiding judge Agus Soebroto said,
\nreading the verdict.<\/p>\n
The court also rejected asset preservation orders requested by
\nboth contractors, saying the request was baseless as none of the
\nassets belonged to Total.<\/p>\n
The contractors' lawyer OC Kaligis said they would appeal to
\nthe Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
\"We will file an appeal over the ruling because an audit
\nresult from the Development Financial Comptroller (BPKP) has
\nstated that Total still has debts to pay,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost over the phone. Kaligis himself was not present at the
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
Total was taken to court by its subcontractor IKL, as the
\nfirst plaintiff, and contractor PT Sanggar Kaltim Jaya (SKJ) as
\nthe second plaintiff.<\/p>\n
They both used BPKP audit results as the legal basis for their
\nbankruptcy petition.<\/p>\n
The contractors claimed that Total should pay them US$7.131
\nmillion to cover debts incurred in the construction of a gas
\nplatform and pipeline at Tunu and Peciko fields in East
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
Total refused the claim saying it had completed all payments
\nto the first plaintiff and that they did not have a contractual
\nbasis to demand compensation from the company.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian unit of French-based Total SA also filed a
\nreport to the Indonesia National Board of Arbitration (BANI) to
\nclaim $12 million in liquidated damages caused by SKJ for failure
\nto complete the project in due time.<\/p>\n
Total's lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said it would continue with
\nthe arbitration proceedings and it was currently in the process
\nof selecting arbiters for the case.<\/p>\n
In Paris, Total said it was \"very satisfied\" with the
\ndecision.<\/p>\n
A Total spokesman was quoted by AFP as saying that Total was
\nnow waiting to see if the complainants would appeal the decision,
\nor attempt to file another suit in a civil court. Total is also
\nseeking damages for harm caused by the bankruptcy petition, he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-rejects-total-bankruptcy-petition-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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