Sommariva, a company linked to Andrei Chernomyrdin, son of former Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, has filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Arbitration Court against four foreign entities affiliated with U.S.-based Caterpillar, the Russian Kommersant newspaper reports (in Russian).
The plaintiff demands written consent for the sale of shares in Caterpillar’s Russian subsidiaries and notarized corporate documents, including shareholder information, to submit the deal for review by a Russian government commission.
The lawsuit concerns Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Solar Turbines CIS LLC, and Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC. The defendants named in the case are Caterpillar Inc., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe, and Solar Turbines International Company. Sommariva is also seeking to nullify the arbitration clause in the original contract and requests a penalty of RUB 5 million for each day of non-compliance following the court’s decision. The court rejected a motion to impose interim measures blocking any corporate registration changes with Russia’s Federal Tax Service. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 13.
According to the newspaper, Solar Turbines CIS LLC continues to service Russia’s oil and gas sector and maintains active contracts. The warehouse reportedly holds a substantial inventory of Caterpillar equipment and components. A source familiar with the situation told Kommersant that Sommariva is interested in developing the companies and launching domestic production of similar machinery.
Legal experts interviewed by the newspaper identified two main obstacles to the claim: the presence of an arbitration clause, which may prevent a Russian court from handling the dispute, and the low likelihood that a foreign defendant not operating in Russia would recognize or enforce a Russian court ruling abroad.
