The International Court of ARBITRATION
This case of disagreement is between a Private studio based in Mumbai and a Movie production house based in Mumbai too. Both these are private limited companies with over a decade of business history. Being regular clients, the Production house, who in this case are respondents, used the post-production services offered by the studio (Claimant). The total bills due, which are calculated as man-hours consumed, amount to Rs. 1,13,750/-. The bill was raised as an invoice after the submission of the completed works. However, the production house deferred the payment, which was to be made within 14 days of raising the invoice, and was not willing to clear the dues. There were some cash flow issues that the respondent was facing due to delays in receivables from their previous production forays. The case was then taken up by PrivateCourt, which has been on a retainer with the claimant.
In this case, as there was no dispute in the invoice amount; the discussions were based solely on the intention of the respondent to make payments. The negotiator explained to the respondent that if they had not paid or agreed on a deadline to complete the payment, it might affect their reputation in the industry as the claimant was also an established player in the very closely-knit movie-making industry. This finally did affect the respondent, who requested that they be given time to make the complete payment.
After consulting with the claimant, the respondent was given 90 days to complete the payments. The liberty to pay in instalments or as a single payout was given to the respondent. However, the outstanding amounts would attract an interest of 18% p.a. to which the respondent agreed.
In many cases, especially with established business houses, any news that can be damaging to their image is a considerable threat. However, a third-party professional negotiator is more equipped to put this through without spoiling ongoing business relations.
