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Dan Gonzalez vs. The World's Richest Man

Several pesky readers have taken me to task for not covering the latest news in the quixotic battle between Hogan & Hartson attorney Dan Gonzalez and Carlos Slim, The World's Richest Man ("TWRM"), previously reported on here.

TWRM is represented by local Yalie Angel Castillo, Jr. (by the way, Angel, this is a very good client to have).

Ok, you whiners, here you go:

''We can now move forward with our confirmation,'' said Daniel González, an attorney for Americatel who is with Hogan & Hartson in Miami. The rejection of the appeal by the court was final and could not be appealed, González said.

But Angel Castillo, a Miami attorney with Ogletree, Deakins who represents CTE, said the company had filed a constitutional challenge in El Salvador's Supreme Court, asking for ''protection'' against the lower court's decision. This is known as an amparo in Latin American law.

''CTE continues to assert that this is a domestic arbitration between two Salvadoran corporations, so that, in any event, rules of international arbitration do not apply,'' Castillo said.

''These are issues that are fairly new to the law of El Salvador so I think that the company will pursue all the legal remedies,'' Castillo said.

González said the Supreme Court appeal will not affect Americatel's efforts to proceed legally against any holdings of CTE's parent company, América Móvil, since the local court decision in El Salvador was final.

In Miami, Moreno originally ratified the judgment but later withdrew his order when he learned of the lawsuit by CTE in El Salvador. The decision by the Second Civil Chamber paves the way for Moreno to issue a new decision.

González said this should be the end of legal maneuvers against paying the judgment. ''They [CTE] have no order or any other basis to prevent the court in the United States from moving forward in the action to enforce our award,'' he said.

My question, in all such matters, is simply this: Who has the larger expense account?

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on December 19, 2007 (boomark / email).