DC Circuit Panel Expresses Skepticism of Russia’s Arguments in $250M Arbitral Award Fight

Dec. 5, 2025 – Law360 reported that a D.C. Circuit panel expressed skepticism during oral arguments that Russia can avoid paying more than $250 million in arbitral awards, owed to Ukrainian power and gas companies, based on an argument that an exception to sovereign immunity doesn't apply.

The companies, which owned and operated gas stations that were seized by Russia after its 2014 invasion of Crimea, have been fighting for compensation for their seized assets since 2015. In 2019, the companies were awarded more than $34 million by an arbitral tribunal in Geneva.

In 2022, Hughes Hubbard moved to enforce the award in federal court in Washington, DC, with the Russian government moving to dismiss the enforcement lawsuit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA).

Following a Dec. 12, 2024, ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that denied both of Russia’s motions and rejected their sovereign immunity defense, Russia appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

On Aug. 15, the firm submitted a brief on behalf of the 11 companies to the D.C. Circuit, rejecting Russia’s appeal and claim to sovereign immunity under the FSIA.

The brief also argued that Russia’s appeal was wrong to claim that the New York Convention – which gives courts at the place of arbitration the power to set aside awards – does not govern the $34 million award because the award is “geopolitical,” and because the Ukrainian investors had no interactions with Russia prior to the commencement of the arbitral proceedings.

The Hughes Hubbard team representing Stabil and the other Ukrainian gas companies includes John Townsend, Jim Boykin, Eleanor Erney, Shayda Vance, Carter Rosekrans and Winthrop Jordan.

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