Construction Dispute Involving Foreign Contractor

We filed a civil claim at the Provincial People's Court in Da Nang for the unpaid USD 4M plus contractual interest, plus damages for delayed payment. The defence we prepared anticipated the developer's defect claims with a comprehensive evidentiary file: the architect-of-record's completion certificate; photographs and video walk-throughs of the entire project at handover; the contractor's response log to each cited 'defect' with photographs documenting the actual condition or remediation; and independent expert reports on the alleged remaining issues.

We also filed an application for an interim asset-freeze under Article 114 of the Civil Procedure Code, citing the developer's apparent unwillingness to pay and the risk of further dissipation of the project funds. The asset freeze was granted within twelve days and immediately changed the dispute's dynamic.

At the first court-annexed mediation conference, we presented the case file and proposed a settlement at 95% of the outstanding amount plus contractual interest. The developer's counsel asked for time to review. At the second mediation conference six weeks later, the developer agreed in principle but proposed a payment schedule over twelve months. We countered with payment within 45 days at 95% — non-negotiable. The court endorsed the structure and a binding settlement was concluded.

The contractor recovered USD 3.8M (95% of the outstanding amount) plus contractual interest of approximately USD 110K, paid within 45 days of settlement. The asset freeze was lifted on the first scheduled payment.

More importantly for the contractor's broader position, the rapid resolution and the substantive vindication of its work product preserved its reputation in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. The contractor has subsequently been engaged on three additional Vietnamese projects, two of which were referred by the same Vietnamese-developer group despite the dispute.