French telco Free is seeking more than 500 million from France T...
French telco Free is seeking more than 500 million from France Telecom (FT) on claims that antitrust violations blocked it from rolling out ADSL services, costing it about
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
2.4 billion earnings. The damages claim is “by far the largest ever in the telecom business in France,” Paris attorney Michel Debroux told us. In Jan. 2005, FT was socked with a 40 million award in a private antitrust claim by 9 Telecom and then fined 80 million by the French competition council, he said. Tele2, Cegetel and 9 Telecom sued FT in 2002. 9 Telecom won 7 million in 2003, but FT appealed, later settling with the 3 operators for an unknown amount. It’s not known yet whether Free’s case is solid, but “it covers a period where FT engaged in practices that later led to substantial fines and damages,” Debroux said. Most such claims are settled, he said.