Quinn Emanuel Secures Unanimous DC Circuit Win for Global Voice Group

Quinn Emanuel's sovereign litigation and appellate practices secured a significant appellate victory on Friday, when a unanimous DC Circuit panel vacated a district court decision and remanded for full consideration in favor of client Global Voice Group (GVG), a telecoms consulting company seeking to confirm an international arbitral award against the Republic of Guinea and its Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (PTRA).

The case presented a novel enforcement challenge: only the PTRA — not Guinea itself — had signed the arbitration agreement. The district court had dismissed the case on sovereign immunity grounds, finding that Guinea had not waived its immunity by virtue of an agreement it never signed.

Quinn Emanuel took up the appeal and argued that DC Circuit precedent establishes that a foreign state can waive sovereign immunity even as a third-party beneficiary to an arbitration agreement. The team also advanced the argument that the PTRA and Guinea should be treated as the same legal person under U.S. law. A unanimous panel agreed that the district court had erred, vacating the decision and remanding for full consideration of those arguments.

Congratulations to partners Alex Loomis and Dennis Hranitzky.

➡️ Read more about Alex’s practice here: 

➡️ Read more about Dennis’ practice here: