By Mike Scarcella
Sept 10 (Reuters) - Chinese battery maker Gotion has asked a U.S. judge to bar a Michigan town from questioning the company’s president in a federal court lawsuit over delays in Gotion's bid to build a multibillion-dollar manufacturing plant in the state.
Gotion said in a court filing that Green Charter Township in western Michigan had failed to show that Chen Li had any unique personal knowledge about the facts of his company’s proposed electric vehicle battery-related plant to justify deposing him.
In March, Gotion sued Green Charter for allegedly breaching an agreement for the company to build a $2.4 billion plant that would make a key material used in EV batteries.
Gotion told the U.S. court that the township, which has claimed the development agreement was not properly executed, was seeking to question Li in the case in order to harass him over his nationality.
The plant has become a flashpoint in the U.S. presidential election, as Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance have assailed Gotion’s ties to China.
Green Charter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, and neither did Gotion and its attorneys.
“It is clear that the Township’s true aim in deposing Li is to exploit his Chinese nationality for purposes unrelated to the legal substance of this litigation: the Township’s breach of the development agreement,” Gotion told U.S. District Judge Jane Beckering.
Gotion’s senior leader on the project said Li had no personal involvement in the drafting and negotiation of the development plan, court filings show.
Green Charter countered in a filing on Monday that evidence in the case shows Li “will have unique personal knowledge of relevant facts.”
Gotion said it has already invested more than $24 million into the project through real estate acquisition costs and other fees. In May, Beckering delivered an early win to Gotion, in an order directing the township to comply with the development agreement.
The judge said the facts in the case “viewed in totality” bind the township at this stage in the lawsuit.
Green Charter last week filed a court notice saying it will ask the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review Beckering’s order granting Gotion a preliminary injunction.
The case is Gotion v Green Charter Township, U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan, No. 1:24-cv-275.
For Gotion: Daniel Ettinger, Ashley Chrysler and Michael Woo of Warner Norcross + Judd
For Green Charter: Christopher Patterson, Eric Conn and Kyle O’Meara of Fahey Schultz Burzych Rhodes
Read more:
China's Gotion sues US township for breach of contract over $2.4 billion plant
US Republicans push for security review of China-linked battery company
EV battery makers Gotion, ONE plan new Michigan plants
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))
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