Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sinovel files counterclaim against AMSC

By James M. Connolly

Chinese wind turbine maker Sinovel Technology Co. Ltd., which is the target of legal actions by Devens-based American Superconductor Corp., has filed a counter claim against AMSC, charging breach of contract.

Sinovel filed the claim with the Beijing Arbitration Commission, where AMSC filed its civil claim, stating that AMSC failed to deliver contracted components to Sinovel. AMSC’s charges against Sinovel include theft of intellectual property and failure to accept delivery of AMSC’s products.

In a statement released last night, Sinovel said it is asking the arbitration commission to award it a “net” of $42.99 million (US) in economic losses due to breach of contract, as well as make AMSC cover Sinovel’s attorney fees and expenses and the cost of the arbitration.

A spokesperson for AMSC said Sinovel is looking for a $47 million award.

Jason Fredette, vice president of marketing and communications for AMSC said, “We are asking the courts to enforce Sinovel’s contractual obligations to AMSC, which measure in the billions of RMB [Ed. Renminbi, the currency of mainland China]. In addition to this, we also are seeking damages. As we have stated in the past, we believe we have a strong arbitration case related to our contracts, and we have strong evidence of Sinovel’s involvement in IP theft. We have submitted this evidence to the courts and are going through civil and criminal proceedings in conjunction with the arbitration.”