DLA Piper and Kirm Perpar secure win for Kranjska Gora municipality

DLA Piper have successfully advised the Slovenian municipality of Kranjska Gora alongside the Slovenian law firm Kirm & Perpar on complex arbitration proceedings against the group WTE Wassertechnik GmbH (WTE) at the Vienna International Arbitration Centre.

The dispute arose following the expiry of the concession for the municipal sewerage system in Kranjska Gora which the claimant, German based WTE, one of the largest suppliers for municipal and industrial water management , was not willing to accept and consequently raised claims for the nullity of termination, damages and a claim of reimbursement of VAT payments. Kranjska Gora rejected all of the claims made by WTE and ultimately prevailed.

After numerous rounds of written submissions in both German and Slovene, extensive witness and expert testimony and a hearing phase lasting several days, the tribunal confirmed in January this year that WTE's claims were groundless and dismissed them on all accounts.

The DLA Piper team was led by Vienna-based FPR partner Jasna Zwitter-Tehovnik and Litigation & Regulatory partner Andreas Daxberger, supported by FPR associate Manca Kisovec and Litigation & Regulatory associate Andreas Winkler.

Jasna Zwitter-Tehovnik and Andreas Daxberger commented on the successful conclusion, saying: "This mandate is a clear illustration of our cross-practice expertise, combining our arbitration know-how with our expertise in infrastructure projects and SEE.”

“Speaking from a Slovenian perspective, the positive outcome of this arbitration proceeding may encourage us to consider international arbitration as a mechanism for dispute resolution more often, as we tend to be quite reserved at selecting international arbitration as a dispute resolution method", says Matej Perpar, partner at Kirm Perpar.