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Finally reported: Kasit off to Germany to retrieve royal jet


Flashermac

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ThaiHome,

 

is it possible that you link somewhere it says that the Thai government filed an appeal to the March 2010 decision? All I can find is that they are in the process of filing an appeal, which is not the same as filing it.

Looks more like stalling tactics and the reason for current events.

 

Link

A pre-argument conference was suppose to be held on June 1, no news on if did occur or what came out of it.

 

 

From a reader on Bangkok Pundit

Link

"But yes, unless the district court either stayed its judgment pending appeal, or a Second Circuit motions panel granted a stay, the judgment is in full effect. And it doesn’t look like either has happened. A final judgment in the appeal is a long way off – notice of appeal was only filed in April, so briefs still need to be filed, etc. It will be at least a year before they get a full hearing before a Second Circuit panel. In the meantime, it looks like the Clerk’s office is trying to encourage the parties to settle by arranging a mediation conference – which they typically do for complicated cases (it’s worth making the effort to make sure the judges avoid the hard work involved in deciding such cases!). I can’t see how the parties could settle – in which case there’ll probably be a panel hearing in a year, and a decision may take weeks or months after that. In the meantime, the government will just have to keep playing games like this if they don’t want to pay."

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There is a solution to the problem.

 

WB's administrator has demonstrated that he will press this claim to recover. He also, justifiably IMHO, doesn't trust the Thai government's promise that it will, someday, pay. Who can blame him? Do you trust these guys?

 

He will press the claim aggressively. And the Thai government is vulnerable. We are seeing that now. He will go after other assets and create more headaches and embarrassment for Thailand.

 

Abbhisit says they will pay if the government loses the appeal. Because of Thailand's track record, this sounds weak. Like a BG's promise of fidelity.

 

If the Thai government puts up a bank guarantee now for release of the airplane it could look like an implicit admission that it owns the airplane. This also opens pandora's box. It can't be done. We all know that.

 

Why doesn't the Thai government simply propose - unilaterally, on its own - to put up a bond for the full award amount plus a bit on top to cover costs to the U.S. court in return for a stay on all efforts to enforce the award, including the jet in Munich?

 

Abbhisit says they are confident they will win. Back it up. Insult the administrator for good measure when you back it up: "how dare you claim the Thai government doesn't honor its promises!" I am sure the administrator could care less (he just wants to see his client recover), but the Thai public will eat it up.

 

If the Thai government wins, they get the money back. If not, WB gets paid. Simple and easy to understand. And fair.

 

The Thai government can afford this and Khun Yingluk can politically afford this. It demonstrates Thailand's new internationalist foreign policy. It discredits Krasit. It distances her from her brother, whom I am sure had his hand in some part of this debacle.

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Crown Prince urges no payment

 

 

 

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has expressed concern over public feelings about his impounded aircraft and recommended that the government not pay a surety of 20 million euros (846 million baht) for its release.

 

"His Royal Highness has been concerned about Thai people's feelings which may be misled over the issue into thinking that he violated aviation rules," said Attorney-General Chulasingh Vasantasingh at a press conference yesterday.

 

"I would like the Thai people to understand the Crown Prince did not commit any violations and he isn't involved in the legal fight between the government and German firm," he said.

 

Mr Chulasingh said the Crown Prince suggested the government not pay the 20 million euros for the return of his aircraft even though the government was ready to do so. This is because the Crown Prince's jet has noting to do with the government's legal case.

 

The Crown Prince's Boeing 737 was impounded at Munich airport on July 12 in a long-running dispute between Thailand and German firm Walter Bau AG over the Don Muang tollway.

 

Mr Chulasingh said the Office of the Attorney-General would sue Walter Bau and its insolvency administrators for impounding the aircraft.

 

Authorities have assembled a legal team to take the German construction firm and liquidators to court when the aircraft is released.

 

Mr Chulasingh said the ownership issue is expected to be settled at the next court hearing in August.

 

The German court had already acknowledged that the jet belongs to the Crown Prince, based on official records and ownership papers.

 

The Royal Thai Air Force handed over the jet to the Crown Prince in 2007 and the ownership transfer documents have been cleared since then, he said.

 

[color:red]He said the seized jet bears the Crown Prince's royal emblem and the initials HS-CMV and has no symbol of the Royal Thai Air Force. HS refers to a civil aircraft registered in Thailand with the Civil Aviation Department while CMV stands for Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.[/color]

 

Mr Chulasingh said the commercial dispute between the government and Walter Bau is not finalised and no one knows what the outcome will be.

 

"And if the government loses the case in the end, there is no place we can go. We can't go to outer space. We can't move the country away. We will have to pay. But the case isn't over," he said.

 

 

 

Bangkok Post

 

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Mr Chulasingh said the commercial dispute between the government and Walter Bau is not finalised and no one knows what the outcome will be.

 

"And if the government loses the case in the end, there is no place we can go. We can't go to outer space. We can't move the country away. We will have to pay. But the case isn't over," he said.

 

 

 

Bangkok Post

 

This quote shows the way of thinking of the Thai government. Instead of saying that of course they will honor the contract and that they follow the established rule of law, they say that they will do everything possible not to pay a cent - even though this might be much more expensive in the end.

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Mr Chulasingh said the commercial dispute between the government and Walter Bau is not finalised and no one knows what the outcome will be.

 

This is also disingenuous. Arbitrations are designed to quickly provide a final result and the grounds for over turning an arbitration award are very limited. I posted on this above.

 

If the Thai government wants to appeal, fine. But they shouldn't complain or feign surprise if the prevailing party enforces the award while the appeal is pending. If they want to stay enforcement, they should post a bond for at least the full amount of the award.

 

It is totally unreasonable for the Thai government to expect that enforcement will be suspended while an appeal is pending when they have not "bonded around" the award. If they want the enforcement to stop - and Walter Brau can go after other assets - they need to put up a bond to cover the full award amount.

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Now let's look at this ... Walter Bau has gone bankrupt, right? In the US if you declare bankruptcy, you may be allowed to keep your house and car, but that is about all. If Walter Bau is defunct, how can they sue anybody? And if they have gone bankrupt, won't any money they may receive go to pay off their creditors?

 

 

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Now let's look at this ... Walter Bau has gone bankrupt, right? In the US if you declare bankruptcy, you may be allowed to keep your house and car, but that is about all. If Walter Bau is defunct, how can they sue anybody? And if they have gone bankrupt, won't any money they may receive go to pay off their creditors?

 

 

Khun Flash ,

 

with utmost respect , but here and on other forums people are discussing complex legal matters which the do not understand . Which they cannot understand because they neither know the relevant ways of jurisdiction nor about the matter itself .

 

I repeat : with highest respect :

 

A bankrupt company according to German law becomes a company of its own with all rights that a living unit has . The receiver is the one who tries to continue business , restructure if useful and he can decide what he wants . He will one day call for a final assembly of all creditors and tell them what the get . Should the Thais have to pay the creditors will jump with joy .

 

On a side note : The German bankruptcy law allows the liquidators an income that would make your US class action lawyers look depressed . The current seizure for example will show a lovely figure on his next cheque . That cheque by the way comes from Walter Bau AG [color:orange]In Liquidation[/color] . You might call it an incestual relationship .

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