Cooper Tire's Chinese unit appeals jurisdiction ruling

ERJ staff report (BC)

Beijing – Cooper Tire and Rubber Co.’s China unit has appealed a court ruling that would keep jurisdiction of a dispute with Chengshan Group Co. Ltd in the Chinese partner’s home city, Livemint reports a court official as having said.

The Weihai intermediate people’s court is turning the appeal over to the Shandong provincial higher people’s court, said the Weihai court official, who asked not to be identified, citing court rules. The Weihai court last month rejected the defence’s request to relocate the legal dispute to Hong Kong.

In a 29 July lawsuit, Chengshan sought to dissolve the venture, called Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) Tire, saying the US partner’s proposed $2.5 billion (€1.84 billion) buyout by India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd would undermine Cooper Chengshan’s operations. Cooper has said the litigation lacks merit.

The venture operates Cooper’s biggest manufacturing facility worldwide, according to Cooper Chengshan’s union. Workers at the factory stopped producing Cooper tires on 13 July 13 in protest at the Apollo deal.

The Shandong provincial court’s ruling will be final, according to the city court official.

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