Visa lawsuit: Infosys requests court for arbitration

Infosys Technologies is understood to have requested a US federal court to decide the B-1 business visa misuse case against it by an arbitrator instead of a judge and a jury.

This February, Jack ‘Jay’ Palmer, an US-based employee of Infosys, had filed the complaint in Lowndes Country, Alabama, alleging the Bangalore-based information technology services provider was misusing the visa programme to bring Indian employees to the US to work at clients’ site.

Since Infosys is not present in Alabama, the case was transferred to the Federal Court, according to Palmer’s attorney.

“We are awaiting a ruling from the judge on Infosys' request to have this case decided by an arbitrator instead of a judge and a jury. Once the judge rules, we will then start taking depositions of Infosys' employees and clients of Infosys,” Palmer’s lawyer, Kenneth J Mendelsohn, told Business Standard in an email reply.

Infosys could not be reached for its comments.

According to legal experts, Infosys may go for a private arbitration, as it will help the company to avoid public glare in the event of any negative decision of the court.

“Arbitration is usually done because of a pre-existing agreement between two parties. The court process in the US takes anywhere between three-four years for settlement. In cases like this, where lots of depositions are to be made, the arbitration process could be much quicker,” said Apar Gupta, a partner at Mumbai-based law firm Advani & Company.

According to Mendelsohn, his client had been on the bench after the Axis Group cancelled its project. Palmer had also been denied bonuses and expense reimbursements, he alleged.