Ralls Corp challenges President Obama in court
December 20, 2012 Category Alternative energy, Environment
Ralls Corp, owned by executives of China’s Sany Group, has asked a federal judge in Washington to hear its case against U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to scrap the purchase of four wind-farm projects near a U.S. Navy facility in Oregon. Lawyers for Delaware-based Ralls said the company’s rights were violated by the September 28 decision to bar the wind-farm deals due to an unspecified national security risk. Tim Cullen, Partner with U.S. law firm Jones Day, who specializes in global trade disputes, said the case is “virtually unprecedented, because Sany and Ralls are challenging both the action of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and discretion of the President”. He said the government may argue that the judge should not become involved because it is a matter of national security. Clif Burns, Lawyer with Washington firm Bryan Cave, who specializes in export controls and economic sanctions, said: “The Exon-Florio Amendment specifically exempts presidential decisions such as this one from judicial review, so Ralls’ lawsuit has virtually no chance of being successful.” Burns said: “I don’t think that Obama’s decision to block (the wind-farm deals) will have much effect on future Chinese investment in the U.S. because of the unique security concerns posed by this investment.” “The case will be a near impossibility to win,… but it will be a good way for the Chinese to get experience in working the U.S. legal system, even if they lose,” said Ann Lee, a New York University Economics Professor, as reported by the China Daily. “We do not know whether it’s locational or whether it’s equipment related or the height of the tower. We’ve been asked to disprove a negative in an entire universe of negatives,” Viet Dinh, Lawyer for Ralls, told the Judge. Ralls was seeking to place Sany-made wind turbines at the Oregon installations after purchasing land and other rights earlier this year. The assets consist of four locations, three of which are near, and one is within, restricted Navy airspace, the Treasury Department, which heads CFIUS, said on September 28. Ralls said Obama’s decision could cost the company USD20 million in lost design and construction costs.
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