Vietnam Airlines yet to lose 5.2 mln-euro lawsuit

The Civil Court of Paris has rejected the lawsuit filed by lawyer Maurizio Liberati against the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) thanks to new evidence showing signs of deception in this case.

The two newly-founded confidential letters send by the plaintiff to Italian company Falcomar is considered as positive signs for VNA in the 5.2 million euro lawsuit lasting from 1994, said VNA.

Falcomar was another defendant alongside with VNA in the lawsuit and the former ticket agent for Vietnam Airlines in Italy.

VNA said the amount of 5.2 million euros remained in the account of the Paris Bar Association and had yet been transferred to the account of Liberati. VNA also reaffirmed its determination to continue pursuing the case.

The lawsuit begun after the carrier signed a contract with the Italian ticket agent in 1991-1992. In the petition, Liberati said VNA had yet paid him the wage when he worked for Falcomar from September 1991 to December 1992.

After many trials, in March 2000, the Rome Tribunal announced that VNA had to compensate the lawyer a compensation equivalent to 4.3 million euros. Since having not attended the first hearing, VNA had not received the verdict as well as any information regarding the incident.

More than two years later, on May 2, 2002, when the deadline for appeal ended, Vietnam Airlines received a Liberati’s letter and a copy of the verdict, which stated the air giant must pay the 4.3 million euros in 30 days or it would face other legal charges.

Liberati then asked the verdict to be realized in France. True to its wording, the warning turned out to be correct, as on February 18, 2004, Vietnam Airlines received a notice from a French financial agency saying that over 1.3 million euros in the carrier’s account in France was frozen until the suit was settled.

The carrier also received a decision from the Paris Appeal Court which said it had to pay nearly 5.2 million euros (4.3 million euros plus interest).

Realizing the complexity of the case, on June 9, 2004, Vietnam Airlines reported it to the Vietnamese government.

By 2006, Vietnam Airlines has fully paid 5.2 million euros into frozen accounts of the President of the Paris Bar Association to enforce judgments.

Since then, with the direction of the government and supported by related ministries, Vietnam Airlines has promoted the work necessary to find evidence to counter the request of the Italian lawyer. – Tuoi Tre

Tags: Vietnam aviation, Vietnam aviation industry, Vietnam aviation market