Adler vs. The Federal Republic

Adler vs. The Federal Republic of Nigeria

In the court case Adler vs. The Federal Republic of Nigeria, James Adler is an American citizen who is employed by a Mexican corporation named El Surtidor. He is representing his employer as a part of an effort to secure a large payment for oil contracts under the previous regime. What happened was Adler received a letter from the Chief Accountant of the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation. He informed Adler and El Surtidor that they are entitled to a large refund payment. The reason why, is because the corrupt civilian that was overthrown in coup, grossly overinflated the actual value of these contracts. To bring them more in line with realistic standards, they were taking a haircut. Where, the government would have to send oil companies large royalty payments as part of an effort to reduce the value of these contracts. ("Adler vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria," n.d.)

In 1992, Adler met with government officials in Nigeria and they confirmed to him that the company was owed back payments totaling $60 million. During this meeting, is when he was shown a bank draft for this amount that was made out to: El Surtidor and Adler. However, before he could have access to these funds. Adler must first send additional money to the government in order to pay for the processing fees associated with these transactions. ("Adler vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria," n.d.)

Over the next two years, he would pay a total of $2.11 million to Nigerian government officials. The basic idea was that this money is being used to cover various fees, in order for the company to receive the $60 million. However, as time went by there were a number of different expenses that Adler was paying for to receive these funds. A few of the most notable include: taxes, vacations for government officials, special gifts, duty, currency transaction charges and bank wire fees. Once it became clear that he was not going to receive the money for his employer, is when Adler sued the Nigerian government in a U.S. court. ("Adler vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria," n.d.)

During the case, he alleged that officials were directly involved in a large Ponzi scheme that defrauded himself and the firm of $2.11 million. He was asking the court to order the Nigerian government to return the total amount of money that was sent to them during this time. The reason why, is because there was a number of government institutions that were utilized as a part of the fraud. The court sided with Adler, based upon the fact that officials did not act in good faith. However, Adler was forbidden from receiving the money because he has dirty hands from activities such as: paying bribes and large kickbacks. ("Adler vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria," n.d.)

Do you agree with the decision of the court? Why or why not?

I agree with the decision of the court. The reason why, is because anyone who is engaged in illegal activities cannot come back to the courts and demand that they need compensation when they have been wronged. As, they knowingly broke the law in an effort to: gain some kind of special favoritism. If the court had granted the award to Adler, this would have encouraged other individuals to seek similar kinds of remedies in the future when they are wronged during these kinds of transactions. This is problematic, because the court will not support or grant an award based upon a situation that was created by the plaintiff breaking the law.