November 14, 2025: After almost 11 years of litigation spanning courts in the BVI, UK, Alabama, Florida, New York, Delaware and Ohio, Marks & Sokolov obtained a decisive victory in the Delaware Court of Chancery with the dismissal of claims brought by Vadim M. Shulman, Bracha Foundation and Hornbeam Corporation against multiple defendants, including PrivatBank, which sought more than $80 million in damages based on allegations of misappropriation, fraud, self-dealing and civil RICO regarding a joint venture investment in an Ohio steel mill and other agreements.
The Chancery Court held that based upon the prior 2015 dismissal Marks & Sokolov had obtained in Ohio on plaintiffs’ same claims, their Delaware claims were barred by the doctrine of collateral estoppel, which precludes parties from re-litigating matters previously decided. In Ohio, Marks & Sokolov established that Shulman lacked standing under British Virgin Islands (BVI) law to pursue claims concerning the subject companies’ internal affairs. The Chancery Court held the Ohio decision conclusively resolved the standing issue, preventing plaintiffs from proceeding in Delaware.
Marks & Sokolov represented Panikos Symeou, Halliwell Assets, Inc., and Querella Holdings, Ltd. This outcome underscores the firm’s strength and efficiency in defending complex, high-value cross-border disputes in multiple jurisdictions