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Law360, London (July 1, 2021, 1:46 PM BST) -- A healthcare provider is suing a glove manufacturer for $305 million after the company allegedly failed to produce 140 million boxes of protective gloves at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indo-UK Institute of Health, a partnership between hospitals in Britain and health care providers in India, has filed a lawsuit at the High Court seeking the money in damages to cover millions of boxes of gloves that IGC International PTE Ltd. failed to deliver during the coronavirus crisis.
IGC International, a manufacturing company based in Singapore, signed a contract with the institute in September 2020, under which it promised to sell the healthcare provider 140 million boxes of gloves.
The Indo-UK Institute planned to sell the gloves on at a mark-up, according to the filing on March 8, which has recently been made public. The institute had already signed contracts with two buyers promising to provide them with the much-needed protective equipment amid the pandemic. It told the court that IGC knew it was buying gloves for the purpose of reselling them to other buyers.
But IGC did not produce the promised gloves on time, and failed to do so at all, even though the institute had paid a deposit of $10 million, according to the lawsuit.
The failure by the Singapore company to hand over the gloves meant that the Indo-UK Institute was not able to meet its contractual obligations with its own buyers. It told the court in its lawsuit that it is not yet clear whether those buyers will bring proceedings against it.
The institute is asking the court to order IGC to repay the $10 million deposit as well as an additional $305 million in losses arising out of the company's breach, including the profit it would have been able to make from reselling the gloves, plus interest and costs.
Representatives for the two sides did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The claimants are represented by Matthew Watson of XXIV Old Buildings, instructed by Bird & Bird LLP.
Counsel details for the defendants were not immediately available on Thursday.
The case is UK Global Healthcare Ltd. (t/a Indo UK Institute of Health) v. IGC International PTE Ltd., case number CL-2021-000129, in the Commercial Court of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
--Editing by Ed Harris.
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