DLA Piper Norway Dispute

DLA Piper Norway regards dispute resolution as a specialist skill. Our multidisciplinary litigation group consists of experienced lawyers who regularly handle, mediate and plead complex commercial disputes before the ordinary courts and arbitration panels.

In 2022 our general litigation & arbitration team was strengthened by the arrival of the three litigators Tage Brigt A. Skoghøy, heading our litigation and arbitration practice, Ørjan Salvesen Haukaas and Marie Bjørk Myklebust. This year has started with yet another exciting litigation-signing. Litigator Mohsin Ramani is joining the litigation & arbitration team from February 2023, further strengthening the focus on complex commercial litigation, as well the insurance sector.

Our Litigation & Arbitration team handled a variety of commercial disputes in 2022, and we mention just a few of them below.

• Pleading before the Supreme Court is a clear highlight for all litigators. Hans Christian Brodtkorb, assisted by Nora Birkelund, finished 2022 by having litigated and won a matter of principle regarding time-barring before the Norwegian Supreme Court.
• Skoghøy and Lars Albert Jøstensen finished off 2022 with successfully representing a fund manager before the Oslo District Court, in a performance fee dispute with another fund manager following termination of their agreement. The judgment is appealed and will most likely be subject to an appeal hearing late 2023.
• Haukaas and Myklebust, assisted by Anna Regine Arntsen, successfully represented the Twitter persona Hodlonaut before the District Court in a technology/libel case against a UK resident who controversially is claiming to have invented Bitcoin – the world’s first and largest decentralized cryptocurrency. The case has received substantial global attention in the crypto community and has been named as one of the most influential events in the crypto space in 2022. The case has been appealed by the UK resident and is set to be heard by the Court of Appeal in 2023.
• Are Hunskaar and Stian Ohm Netland successfully represented an insurance company and the insured before the Court of Appeal, in an insurance case regarding the responsible applicant’s liability under the Norwegian Building Act. The case raised complicated questions related to the Supreme Court decision HR-2020-312-A and how far the responsible applicant’s obligations reach compared to the builder’s own obligations. The case has been appealed to the Supreme Court.
• Harald Strømstad, assisted by Arntsen, handled a damages claim after a wrongful arrest. The case had its origin in a damages claim after a failed ship financing project, and the ship owner requested and got arrest in the board of directors assets, due to alleged director liability. We represented the board in getting the arrest lifted as wrongful and thereafter last year represented the board in litigating the damages claim for wrongful arrest.
• The team, including Karoline Oppen Berntsen, has also been involved with several cross-border and national disputes related to investment- or purchase agreements in the energy sector.  

2023 is being kicked off with Fredrik Verling and Hunskaar, well accompanied by Arntsen and Ingrid Elise Ruud, pleading before the Supreme Court. The case concerns a principal matter regarding liquidated damages and VAT, as well as questions related to adjustment of consideration after changes in the rules for employer's national insurance contributions.

We are looking forward to continuing our close cooperation with our cutting-edge clients in finding the best commercial or argued solutions for their disputes, and to develop the art of commercial litigation & arbitration within the team.