On Nov 2, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal obtained by KYL last year of a multi-billion dollar Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case brought by a French multinational corporation against KYL’s Polish client in connection with a dispute over the ownership and control of the largest cell phone company in Poland. Vivendi S.A., the French plaintiff, also sued a number of German Deutsche Telekom entities, as well as T-Mobile U.S.A., claiming that all of the defendants colluded and conspired with one another to render valueless Vivendi’s multi-billion investment in the Polish company that was allegedly controlled by KYL’s Polish client. In dismissing the case at the trial court level, the federal district court agreed with KYL’s position that the matter should not have been filed in the U.S. and it held that “[t]his court is just the latest stop on Vivendi S.A.’s world-wide search to find a court to rule in its favor.” The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal and held that “the district court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that Vivendi was engaging in a forum shopping by filing suit in the United States.”
Click here to read the Ninth Circuit opinion.