Glocal Healthcare calls ICC Tribunal order to pay US $110.2 million as unjust & one-sided

New Delhi: Glocal Healthcare Systems and several of its shareholders have been asked to pay US $110.2 million in damages to the US based UpHealth Inc in an international arbitration case.

The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) of the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of UpHealth’s subsidiary, UpHealth Holdings, Inc. in the order dated March 18, 2024.

The case pertains to the acquisition of Glocal by the UpHealth Holdings on October 30, 2020. While the former alleges that the deal was not about the acquisition but investment, the latter has accused Glocal of indefensible conduct.

“We remain steadfast in our determination to hold fully accountable the respondents in the ICA proceeding, who sold us Glocal and then refused to relinquish control of it, using misleading and baseless claims, for their indefensible conduct and the resulting harm caused to UpHealth and its stockholders,” UpHealth alleged in a statement.

Sharing its reaction, Glocal Healthcare in a statement called the judgement one-sided.

“The ex-parte Award was pronounced notwithstanding the non-participation of the company as well as its promoters or shareholders in the arbitral proceedings. The Arbitral proceedings were conducted in an utterly oppressive and vexatious fashion, casually brushing aside all legal objections taken, which shows that an Award adverse to the company was always a fait accompli,” mentioned the statement.

“Any Award issued by such a Tribunal, which was inter alia, prematurely constituted, functus officio, and wholly without jurisdiction for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, is a nullity and cannot be executed,” claimed the company.

Glocal Healthcare says it has obtained legal opinion from eminent luminaries including former Judges of the Supreme Court of India and forensic opinion from leading global forensic advisor.

The company says it is also in the process of filing a claim for damages against the said entities. “On the basis of initial estimates, the same is likely to be quantified at over USD 500 Million,” its statement claimed.