English version translated by XU Xinyuan (Wayne)

After nearly a month of preparation and an intense eight-hour on-site speech competition, the results of the selection for the LANDING’s “Top 10 Outstanding Cases” and “Top 10 Classic Cases” of 2023 have been freshly released.

Centered around Landing’s core guideline of “absolute professionalism”, the selection of 2023 outstanding and classic cases aims to set benchmarks in professionalism, to promote communication and cooperation, to consolidate brand power, and to showcase the charm of LANDING lawyers. The intrinsic drive for professionalism has stirred the entire law firm, with partners and independent lawyers actively participating. The participating lawyers span across different age groups, ranging from 1960s to 1990s.

The selected cases represent the best of the best. Some of the cases are novel, such as the first showdown between a basketball club and the Chinese Basketball Association, the young college teacher’s victory over a well-known university in a legal judgment, and the retrieval of frozen embryos; some of the cases are difficult, such as the multiple dispute resolutions with the government’s violation of the land concessions, and changing the characterization of a fraud case by means of “refund” in the defense; and some of the cases are keeping with the times, such as the young lawyers who have completed the data compliance in an innovative model, and the success to help a young girl to claim the tipping to network celebrity and obtain the support of the procuratorate to prosecute the defendant.

In this article, we will show the case brief of LANDING’s top 10 outstanding cases of 2023, and please stay tuned for the details of the cases to be released later.

Disputes regarding illegal land concessions and unfair competition between an investment company and a park management committee

ADVOCATES:

WU Bin’s team

Case brief:

Facing the abuse of public power and the powerful counterpart, a Global 500 company, LANDING lawyers gathered diversified wisdom, made full use of litigation, coordination and negotiation, and finally achieved the purpose of regulating the government’s land transfer and protecting the fair competition of private enterprises. As a result, the project worth of more than 20 billion yuan came back from the dead.

The registration penalty crisis management regarding the penalty on Xinjiang Guanghui Basketball Club in violation of the registration

ADVOCATES:

ZHANG Bing’s team

Case brief:

It is the first victory for a Chinese professional basketball team to defend rights against the Chinese Basketball Association(CBA), setting many precedents, such as defining what constitutes a restricted free player, pushing the CBA to amend its bylaws, revising the name of the dispute resolution body, and transferring appeals to the China Sports Arbitration Commission.

Copyright Infringement Dispute over Zuny’s Home Decoration Artwork

ADVOCATES:

GAO Qiang

Case brief：

Zuny, a well-known home decoration artwork brand in Taiwan, fought against counterfeiting. LANDING lawyers skillfully used big data and rules of burden of proof. As a result, the court applied punitive damages rules in an innovative trial mode, setting a new high amount of compensation for copyright infringement.

Non-prosecution of SONG who was accused of fraud

ADVOCATES:

PU Guiping

Case brief:

LANDING lawyer succeeded in changing the characterization of a fraud case by means of “refund” in the defense. The case was heard by the local representatives of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and the defendant was not prosecuted for the crime of fraud. This case reflects the importance “crime punishment and governance”. The defendant’s enterprise ranked in “China’s top 500 agricultural cooperatives” of that year. The result of the case has satisfied the judicial authority, the advocate, the defendant’s family members, and the defendant.

Non-prosecution of LIU who was accused of smuggling of general cargo

ADVOCATES:

GAN Jiong’s team

Case brief:

The defendant pleaded guilty in the first instance and was sentenced to two-year imprisonment with a three-year probationary period. In the second instance, LANDING lawyer persisted in pleading not guilty for the defense of insufficient evidence. After LANIDNG lawyer made over a dozen trips to the judiciary authorities and traveled tens of thousands of kilometers, the appellate court remanded the case for retrial. Eventually, due to insufficient evidence, the prosecutor withdrew its lawsuit, and the defendant was exempt from criminal punishment.

Series of disputes between an investment company and MIAO and other directors and supervisors and real controllers of the company for liability disputes

ADVOCATES:

WANG Guanghao

Case brief:

LANDING Lawyer peeled back layers of the fact and developed strategy accordingly, making breakthroughs under the current company law on the maximum limit of accountability of director and supervisor. The judgment held the actual controller, shadow directors, spouses, and affiliated companies accountable both horizontally and vertically, which was a complete victory for the client.

Employment Contract Dispute between MA and Shanghai Jiaotong University

ADVOCATES:

CHEN Renzhong

Case brief:

A young college teacher filed a lawsuit against a top university. Who won? LANDING lawyer upheld his belief in representation of the client. Ultimately, the court of the first instance overtured the verdict of the labor arbitration and the appellate court overturned the judgment of the first trial. Consequently, the bureaucrats failed and the young college teacher won. The result embodies the defense of the spirit of the university.

Liability Insurance Contract Dispute between A Logistics Company and An Insurance Company

ADVOCATES:

CHEN Renzhong

Case brief:

The original intention of liability insurance is to acknowledge compassion and respect the value of life. However, excessively aggravating insurance companies’ responsibility will only render this type of insurance meaningless. The judge recognized the argument of LANDING lawyer, which combined legal reasoning and commercial spirit, and ultimately the retrial changed the judgment in favor of the insurance company.

A teen girl suing an online platform for full refund of tipping

ADVOCATES:

JIA Xinyan

Case brief:

A teen girl tipped online platform 210,000 yuan. LANDING lawyer fixed evidence from piles of materials, and sought the support of the prosecution in an innovative method. The platform ultimately made a full refund. The compliance governance on the platform by the prosecution has achieved the clean-up of the network.

Specialized Data Compliance Project for an IoT Enterprise in Shanghai

ADVOCATES:

CHEN Mengyuan

Case brief:

This case is a legal service innovation completed by a LANDING post-90s lawyer. As an external Data Protection Officer (DPO), LANDING lawyer assisted a leading IoT device manufacturer to establish and refine data compliance governance. By integrating dynamic and long-term compliance, “data compliance” becomes a new competitive advantage for the client.