The door-to-door business, and it is an unprecedentedly big business, how can Bai Xiaoqian not be active.

As soon as he received the call, he rushed from the hospital to the law firm, and at the same time asked Erin and Shi Lingzhi to collect relevant information so that they could bargain for the final legal fee.

At 4:23 p.m., except for Wang Zhongyang, who was recuperating in the hospital, all the partners of Sien & Associates appeared on digital TV, Han Jun glanced down at his laptop, and asked in English with a smile: "Erin, this case should have an impression, remember that you played the prosecution lawyer in this case back then." ”

Erin shrugged and smiled extremely exaggeratedly: "This lawsuit makes me feel like time has passed, and it is unbelievable that at least eight years have passed, and both presidential terms should be over." ”

Shi Lingzhi is not ignorant of this, and he has collected information just now, so he can't help but smile: "Marathon lawsuit, those guys are really lucky to meet such high-quality customers." ”

The customer who delivered the door was sitting next to the boss, fortunately speaking English, otherwise they would not be happy.

Bai Xiaoqian didn't want people to think that they were sarcastic about Beihua Pharmaceutical's "too much money" and "stupid", so she immediately took over the conversation and said: "Boss, you and Erin have been in contact with this lawsuit for a long time, understand the situation, you can introduce it." Lingzhi, you help Erin translate, and from now on speak Mandarin. ”

It is important to do business, Shi Lingzhi grabbed the pen and said, "Okay." ”

Why are they all women, they need the cooperation of female policemen to solve cases, and they need the assistance of female lawyers to beat officials, no wonder they have to resign, and there is a problem with their original style. Vice Governor Li and Director Zhang glanced at each other and sat quietly to the side, wondering how well they knew about the case.

Han Jun cleared his throat. Looking at the camera, he said: "Thanks to the Japanese company being sued in the United States due to the price alliance, Chinese vitamin C manufacturers quickly followed up. It is no exaggeration to say that he once called for wind and rain in the United States. In 2004, the global production capacity of vitamin C was 120,000 tons. Among them, 68% of the production capacity is in China, concentrated in four companies such as Beihua Pharmaceutical, Northeast Pharmaceutical, and Dongjiang Group, and more than 85% of the vitamin C market in the United States is occupied by Chinese companies.

However, the low price and crazy expansion of production capacity, the negative effect will soon appear. Between 2000 and 2001, the export price of vitamin C plummeted from US$5.2 per kilogram to less than US$2.8 per kilogram. ”

The representative of Beihua Pharmaceutical disagreed with this statement and couldn't help but correct: "The joint pricing is led by the Vitamin C Branch of the Medical Insurance Chamber of Commerce. The association is subordinate to the Department of Commerce and is equivalent to an executive order. ”

"I've heard of it."

Han Jun glanced down at the materials he had just found on the Internet, and continued: "On November 16, 2001, led by this association affiliated to the Ministry of Commerce, six domestic vitamin C companies, including the four major enterprises, held an industry meeting and reached an agreement on the export price of vitamin C, and decided to limit production and raise prices uniformly.

The minutes of this industry meeting were in the possession of the plaintiff's attorneys in the United States. It became a key piece of evidence in this antitrust lawsuit. According to the records, the participating companies unanimously approved a 'minimum price' of $3.35 for vitamin C exports and agreed to limit the number of exports to be exported. ”

Erin took her coffee and said with a look of regret: "Section 1 of the Sherman Act provides: any contract, trust, or other form of association, conspiracy. It is illegal to restrict trade or commerce between states or with foreign countries. In this case, the respondent company was in the same amount of time. In the same way, set the same price within a uniform range. And by restricting production to maintain a certain price, it is enough to show that there is a price collusion between the parties.

And as far as I know. Since then, several respondents have held this regular meeting every year. In the course of the plaintiff's lawsuit against the enterprises involved in the case for joint control of the price of vitamin C, the Chinese company as the defendant did not refute the claim of price collusion. Therefore, the plaintiff has sufficient grounds to claim that the court should award the defendant three times the amount of damages under section 4 of the Clayton Act, which does not include punitive damages. ”

Sure enough, he knew the case very well, and Vice Governor Li sighed secretly and still didn't express any opinions.

Han Jun took over the conversation and continued: "The 'coordination meeting' of the Medical Insurance Chamber of Commerce quickly worked, and from 2002 to the end of 2003, the export unit price of vitamin C quickly rose from below US$3 to more than US$6, and the highest price was as high as US$15.82. In the first quarter of 2002, the profits of domestic vitamin C manufacturers doubled. The successive shutdowns of rival Roche and Japan's Takeda have also been a factor in spurring the rise in vitamin C prices.

Taste the sweetness, but do not learn from the experience of Japanese counterparts. The 'coordination meeting' organized by the Medical Insurance Chamber of Commerce has been held regularly since then, once a year. There are detailed minutes of the meeting, and it is even publicized as an achievement. It can be said that in this case, the Vitamin C Branch of the Chamber of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce, cannot escape the blame.

In the past eight years of litigation, the Department of Commerce has supported vitamin C manufacturers, submitting written statements as amicus curiae on three occasions stating that the alleged companies' actions were carried out at the request of the government, trying to exempt the defendant companies from legal liability under the principle of "foreign sovereignty coercion," and trying to make Americans, who are still asking Chinese whether to keep braids, understand the complexities of China's socialist market economy. ”

Erin explained sideways: "This is just the nail in the coffin for the defendant's failure in this antitrust lawsuit, and these behaviors that the Chinese side considers reasonable and legal are indisputable price monopoly behaviors in the eyes of all Americans, including me." It can be said that the so-called 'regulation' that the Chinese government is accustomed to is the main reason why the defendant is very likely to lose the case and be awarded a sky-high amount of damages. ”

Bai Xiaoqian pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked: "Since price collusion is a certainty, can we make a fuss about 'state compulsion', 'extraterritorial effect' and 'international comity'?" ”

Han Jun shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The possibility is very small, first, it is impossible for the jury and the judge to cite Chinese law for trial, and second, the plaintiff's evidence is too sufficient, sufficient to prove that the company involved in the case may be coerced by the government." ”

"What do you mean?"

"In July 2002, Convair, a subsidiary of Beihua Pharmaceutical, and other participating companies agreed to set the price at $3.8, and in April 2003. Participating companies agreed to a minimum export price of US$11; On March 15, 2004, the participating enterprises signed the agreement. The minimum price was agreed to be $9, and the production line was shut down. Availability is restricted.

However, this joint operation was not successful, and for the sake of their own interests, several companies involved in the case did not agree to carry out the case. In December 2004, the export quotation of vitamin C fell again to below US$4 per kg. If it is coercion, such a thing simply cannot happen, so 'state coercion' simply does not hold water. ”

Gao Ming raised his hand and asked: "Lawyer Han, the plaintiff's evidence is so conclusive, it is basically impossible to turn the tables in court, can you estimate it." How much compensation will Beihua Pharmaceutical pay in the final judgment? ”

"Never less than $100 million."

"What about appeals?"

"The circuit court will only review whether the law of the first-instance judgment is reasonable, and will not overturn whether the defendant's monopolistic conduct is established. There is zero chance of a turnaround, and appealing will only waste attorney fees. ”

The representative of Beihua Pharmaceutical felt the need to express his views, stood up and said worriedly: "Our vitamin C business in the U.S. market accounts for only 0.7% of its total revenue, and the business revenue of the previous year was only more than 70 million yuan. Last year, it was even less, only more than 20 million, and the price was already very low. We can't afford to be fined so heavily that we don't have much to gain in the first place. ”

Vice Governor Li thought so deeply and added with a blank face: "In 2011. Beihua Pharmaceutical's net profit was 125 million yuan, and last year's net profit fell sharply by 87% to just over 17 million. Calculate it accordingly. If the first-instance judgment awards 100 million US dollars, Beihua Pharmaceutical needs to pay more than 600 million yuan in compensation. This is equivalent to 40 times the total net profit of last year! ”

It's been like this for a long time, so why bother in the first place.

Not only did they not learn the lessons of their Japanese counterparts. Even the price alliance can't be determined, and it is actually grabbed by the tail by others and gets such conclusive evidence.

Bai Xiaoqian didn't know what to say to them, so after thinking about it, she raised her head and asked, "Mr. Zhang, does your group have any investments in the United States, and do you have any assets that may be forcibly executed by the court?" ”

"Not really, so we're wondering if we can get around the sky-high fines by exiting the U.S. market."

It's naïve.

Han Jun sighed lightly and said lightly: "It's not impossible to get rid of the fine, but it is necessary to assess the cost of doing so, because it will be a very big damage to the international image of export enterprises, especially listed companies." Unless you are sure that your group will not do business with the United States in the future, you will completely cut off this back road. ”

"Exiting the U.S. market is just as risky."

Erin crossed her arms and chewed gum as she reminded: "According to the 'judicial assistance' rules of the U.S. Department of Justice and other countries, if the accused company evades the enforcement of the judgment by withdrawing from the U.S. market, then the Ministry of Justice may require the government of a third or even fourth country to enforce the fine by withholding assets, goods and money from the sued company's business in its country." Unless the accused company decides not to go anywhere in the future and not to develop the international market, it will stay in China. Obviously, this is very unrealistic. ”

"This case is troublesome!"

"It's very troublesome."

Don't bother to come to you, Vice Governor Li didn't want to waste time, so he got up and proposed, "Professor Han, let's go out for a walk and let Lawyer Bai, Lawyer Ai, and Minister Zhang have a good discussion." ”

When the time for bargaining came, it was really inappropriate to continue to stay here, Han Jun readily agreed: "Okay, the scenery here is good, I'll accompany you around." ”

If a compensation of $100 million is light, and if a heaping compensation of several hundred million dollars is awarded as a Japanese company, the largest state-owned enterprise in Bac Ha Province will have no choice but to pay its debts.

So doing it will seriously affect the image of the country, Vice Governor Li really can't make up his mind, and as soon as he stepped out of the RV, he asked eagerly: "Professor Han, what are you going to do next?" ”

Han Jun smiled secretly: "So far, I can only make crooked moves." Before the court judgment, the two plaintiffs were convinced that Beihua Pharmaceutical did not intend to lose money, such as laying off a few people, stopping production lines, participating in the auction of a few plots of land, and entering other industries. Find ways to convince them that there is the largest market in the world and that it doesn't matter if you get involved in international business or not.

They are responsible to the shareholders, and they will not be as righteous as Beihua Pharmaceutical has been in the past few years, and they definitely don't want to win the lawsuit but not get the money. As long as the trick is realistic, as long as it can convince some shareholders, it can create an atmosphere of rat trapping. At the same time, leave a channel for them to take the initiative to settle with us out of court. (To be continued......)