Law360: On 11 June 2025, a DC Federal Judge denied Russia's application to set aside litigation filed by the financing arm of Yukos Oil Co to enforce a nearly US$5bn arbitral award, saying the Kremlin's jurisdictional objections fell short.

Law360: Russia has asked the DC Circuit to overturn a decision ordering it to face litigation by a Ukrainian utility to enforce a nearly US$219m arbitral award the company won after its Crimean assets were seized, saying it never agreed to arbitrate with the company.

Law360, London: In Molecular Dynamics Ltd v Spectrum Dynamics Medical Ltd, decided on 2 July 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously affirmed that federal district courts do not possess subject matter jurisdiction to vacate foreign arbitral awards.

Law360: A DC Federal Judge has refused Spain's request to maintain a stay in Blasket Renewable Investments LLC's litigation to enforce a €77m arbitral award while the country challenges a DC Circuit ruling in parallel cases before the US Supreme Court.

Law360: The US Supreme Court on 20 May 2024 rejected a case that centres on a US$180m project to expand a Mississippi children's hospital, once again declining to resolve whether parties that agree to certain arbitral rules have also agreed to delegate jurisdictional questions to the arbitrator.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) What is the SEC? The SEC was created under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This Act also amended and strengthened the Securities Act of 1933, which had been implemented in the wake of the stock market crash of 1929. Both Acts were designed to restore investor confidence in US capital markets by providing investors and the markets with more reliable information and clear rules of honest dealing. The SEC is an independent government agency tasked with overseeing US securities markets, enforcing securities law, and monitoring exchanges for stocks, options, and other securities. In addition to the above Acts, the SEC administers a number of major laws that govern the securities industry in the US including (whether in whole or in part) the: • Trust Indenture Act of 1939, which applies to debt securities (eg debentures) offered for public sale • Investment Company Act of 1940, which regulates the organisation of public listed companies that engage primarily in investing and trading in securities • Investment Advisers Act

Law360, London: A Manhattan federal judge has granted Madison Pacific Trust Ltd's request to let it serve a petition for the enforcement of a US$149m arbitral award against the founders of a Ukrainian grain exporter via email, finding that their physical whereabouts are unknown.

Law360: Korek Telecom, a prominent mobile phone operator in the Kurdish region of Iraq, asked a Pennsylvania federal judge on 10 May 2023 to seal the details of a US$1.65bn arbitral judgment involving a rival telecommunications firm that it says publicised the award out of 'obvious spite'.

Law360: Canadian stock photography and video provider iStockPhoto LP has urged a California federal court to send to arbitration a US$250m proposed class action accusing it of violating privacy laws by revealing subscribers' video viewing and downloading behavior on Facebook.

Law360: A New York federal judge has affirmed an unopposed US$70m arbitral award in favor of US artificial intelligence software and robotic process automation company UiPath against a China-based competitor over allegedly stolen source code.

Law360: New York's highest court affirmed on 25 November 2024 that a woman who was struck by a car upon exiting an Uber in Brooklyn must pursue her negligence claims in arbitration, after a divided panel upheld the rideshare company's 'clickwrap' arbitration agreement.

Arbitration analysis: Hidroelectrica Santa Rita S.A. (‘HSR’) obtained an arbitral award against Corporacion AIC S.A. (‘AICSA’) following the cancellation of a hydroelectric project in Guatemala. AICSA applied to the US Courts to annul the award on the basis that the arbitral tribunal exceeded its powers. AICSA’s application was initially declined because the courts declared themselves bound by an Eleventh Circuit precedent that precluded vacatur of non-domestic awards on the basis of excess of powers. The Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit, however, reversed this precedent thus conforming to other Federal Circuits. The decision on vacatur was remanded back to the District Court, which found that the arbitral tribunal had not exceeded its powers. The Court of Appeal upheld this decision confirming that a high hurdle must be surmounted before a court will hold that an arbitral tribunal has exceeded its powers. So long as an arbitral tribunal is even arguably construing or applying the contract—their decision must stand. Written by Alex Wilbraham, solicitor England and Wales, attorney California, independent arbitrator and member of Arbitra International.