Wuhan Intermediate People's Court Recognises A US Court Judgment – Breakthrough In Cross-Border Litigation?

In an unprecedented move, the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court (the "Wuhan Court") delivered a judgment recognising and enforcing a United States commercial judgment. The judgment, delivered on 30 June 2017, signals an important shift in Chinese judicial attitude towards foreign judgments.

I. THE FACTS

The seminal case is Liu Li v Tao Li and Tong Wu.  Liu Li ("Liu") had entered into a share transfer agreement with Tao Li ("Tao") and Tong Wu ("Tong"). Tao agreed to transfer shares registered in a Californian company to Liu for USD 125,000. Liu transferred the sum to Tao accordingly, however, Tao failed to transfer the shares to Liu. Both Tao and Tong disappeared after receiving the sum.