NEW-YORK, September 6 - RAPSI. The defense team for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is planning to file an application to dismiss the lawsuit of Universal Trading & Investment Co. Inc (UTICo) on the basis of jurisdictional issues, according to her attorney Kenneth F. McCallion. The claim was filed in a federal court in New York.
"We are planning to submit an application to dismiss the lawsuit of Universal Trading & Investment Co. Inc on November 7 due to both jurisdiction issues and Tymoshenko's inability to participate in the hearing as a result of health problems," McCallion told RIA Novosti after the pre-trial hearings.
Universal Trading & Investment Co. Inc. (UTICo) is seeking to recover $18.3 million from United Energy Systems, which Tymoshenko headed in the 1990's. UTICo submitted its lawsuit to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in November 2011. Since the defendant did not respond to the lawsuit's submission, UTICo submitted an appeal in April to have the lawsuit considered in the absence of the second party.
On Wednesday, Judge Paul Crotty set the schedule for the submission of the parties' applications, giving each party one month, the deadline being October 5. A response to the applications must be issued by October 26.
The former prime minister will not be taking part in video discussions with the US court, though the plaintiff insists that her health does not prevent her from being able to answer questions, citing official medical examination.
Tymoshenko's defense is of a different opinion. "We have medical documents from independent European doctors that state that Yulia Tymoshenko cannot take part in a trial in New York in absentia due to poor health," the attorney said.
In October 2011, Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power based on a 2009 gas contract she signed with Russia. She is serving her sentence in a Kharkiv women's prison. She has been receiving treatment at a Kharkiv hospital since May 2012. She was diagnosed with a spinal disc herniation.
In late March, a second case bringing further charges against Tymoshenko was filed with Kharkiv's Kievsky District Court. The case deals with her activity at United Energy Systems. She is accused of misappropriation of funds.
