U.S. judge orders Dominican Republic to pay US$44 million in Duquesa landfill dispute

A U.S. federal judge has confirmed an arbitration award requiring the Dominican Republic to pay nearly US$44 million to billionaire investor Michael Lee-Chin in the long-running legal dispute over the Duquesa landfill contract, reinforcing a major international ruling against the Dominican State, according to El Nacional.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly dismissed the Dominican government’s attempt to annul the award and upheld the 2023 decision by an international arbitration tribunal, which found that the government unlawfully expropriated Lee-Chin’s investment after terminating Lajun Corp.’s landfill operating contract in 2017 and taking control of the Duquesa facility in Santo Domingo Norte.

The compensation package includes US$38.7 million for expropriation, US$4.8 million for unfair treatment, plus interest and legal costs, bringing the total to more than US$43.6 million. The dispute began after Lee-Chin filed a claim in 2018 before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, arguing that the Dominican Republic violated investor protections under the CARICOM trade agreement. The ruling leaves the Dominican government facing a binding payment obligation in one of its most significant international arbitration losses in recent years.