Macau court rejects AAEC request for extension of appeal period

Asian American Entertainment Corp Ltd (AAEC) had requested an extra 30 days to appeal a Court of First Instance decision in favour of Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS).

Macau.- Following the Court of First Instance’s ruling in favour of LVS, AAEC’s lawyers played one last card and requested a 30-day extension to appeal the decision, claiming the document had not been provided with a full sentencing decision in Portuguese. However, the Court of First Instance has rejected the request.

The course said that although both Chinese and Portuguese are official languages in Macau, this does not oblige the court to select the official language of the mandate or of the appointed legal representatives. 

AAEC lawyers are said to be disappointed with the court’s decision, saying that it was impossible for a Portuguese-speaking lawyer to review a 99-page ruling in Chinese within 10 days. However, it said it was preparing to file an appeal by May 13.

AAEC was claiming US$7.5bn from LVS for breach of contract. The two companies had signed a partnership in October 2001 with a view to exploring a potential bid for a Macau concession, however, LVS ultimately partnered with Galaxy Entertainment, with whom it won a licence.

LVS’s lawyer claimed that AAEC was the first to break up the partnership and trade with rivals including Hong Kong entrepreneur Lui Che Woo.