Leonardo Electronics Defeats $200 Million Arbitration Claim

Cleary Gottlieb successfully represented Leonardo Electronics US Inc. (Leonardo; f/k/a Selex Galileo Inc.) in an International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) arbitration seated in New York against Nomir Medical Technologies Inc. (Nomir).

Leonardo filed a demand for arbitration in May 2017 alleging Nomir’s wrongful termination of an alliance agreement between the parties for the development and commercialization of a laser device intended for use in nasal decolonization of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Nomir counterclaimed, alleging that Leonardo breached the agreement and ceased material development and commercialization of the technology. While Leonardo’s claim sought approximately $3 million in restitution, Nomir’s counterclaim demanded nearly $220 million in lost profit damages, plus more than $42 million in attorney’s fees and costs, including the costs of Nomir’s litigation funding.

Following a five-day merits hearing in January 2020, during which 13 fact and expert witnesses testified, on August 11, 2020, the tribunal unanimously granted Leonardo’s wrongful termination claim in its entirety and denied Nomir’s counterclaim, finding that Leonardo satisfied its contractual duties and did not breach the contract, and thus Nomir’s termination was a material breach. The tribunal awarded Leonardo the full damages it sought, plus interest and all requested costs.

On September 21, 2020, Cleary filed a petition on behalf of Leonardo to confirm the arbitration award in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which is currently pending.