[Satellite News 10-22-08] A jury awarded ICO Global Communications at least $371 million plus interest in its breach of contract lawsuit filed against Boeing Co. and Boeing Satellite Systems International over a plan to launch a fleet of mobile telephone and Internet service satellites
    The Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that Boeing acted against ICO with malice, oppression or fraud, awarding ICO $279 million for breach of contract and fraud with regard to satellite pricing and $91.6 million for fraud with regard to launches. The jury also awarded ICO $91.6 million against Boeing for tortious interference.
    Jurors initially awarded ICO $742.2 million until a judge said the jurors had made an error in determining the award amount and said correct amount was $371 million. The judge did not specify whether a $91 million award related to a rocket contract was part of it.
    Boeing contends the entire suit constitutes $371 million, while ICO argued that the awards were separate and totaled $462 million. The court will hear evidence and argument on Oct. 28 to determine the amount of punitive damages to be awarded to ICO and how it will be paid out.
    Boeing Senior Vice President and General Counsel J. Michael Luttig said that he has directed Boeing to appeal the verdict. “That appeal may well take several years to run its course. But there were fundamental errors in the case as it was submitted to the jury. There were fundamental errors in the conduct of the trial. There were fundamental errors in the instructions to the jury and in the court’s interaction with the jury during the deliberations," he said.
    John Flynn, executive vice president and general counsel for ICO, said, "The jury has now ruled on the facts in this case, and we are pleased that this case has reached a verdict after years of litigation."
    ICO’s litigation stems from when Hughes Electronics Corp. signed a contract with ICO in 1995 to build and launch 12 satellites. Boeing inherited the contract when it acquired Hughes in 2000. At the time, only two of the satellites were completed. Less than a year later, one of the satellites was lost due to a failure aboard a Sea Launch rocket.
    Four years later, Boeing filed suit against ICO, which filed a countersuit over breach of contract after Boeing allegedly demanded ICO pay another $400 million to finish the job. ICO sought unspecified punitive damages and around $1.5 billion in actual damages, plus interest.
    ICO said the money from Boeing will help pay for its international expansion plans and to put its 10 warehoused satellites into space.
    ICO has launched one satellite, the G1, in April. The company has also filed an application with the European Commission for a pan-European system providing mobile satellite services.