Italian Court Accepts Vietnam Airlines' Appeal
Vietnam’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) hopes to overturn an Italian court’s verdict, which might cost the company EUR5.2 million in damages, after the court decided to accept its appeal.
The Roman Court has accepted an appeal by the carrier, and a new trial is scheduled for January 2006, said Nguyen Xuan Hien, VNA’s general director.
The airline has prepared all necessary evidences for the appeal, he said, but declined to give more detailed information.
The Roman Court’s verdict ordered Vietnam Airlines to pay nearly EUR5.2 million in damages to Maurizio Liberati, an Italian lawyer. The decision followed a lawsuit filed by the Italian lawyer in September 1994 against Vietnam Airlines’ agent in Italy, Falcomar, after he was fired by the agent.
From September 1991 to December 1992, lawyer Maurizio Liberati did several jobs for Falcomar, which operated as Vietnam Airlines’ agent. Vietnam Airlines signed a contract to appoint Falcomar to be its agent in Italy in 1992, which expired in 1995.
The Roman Court held a trial on November 30, 1995 over the case, but the airline failed to attend the trial, which still went on in line with Italian laws.
In 2000, the court opened a re-trial, but at that time Falcomar had gone bankrupt, thus it tried Vietnam Airlines over its relations with Falcomar.
More than EUR1.3 million in a Vietnam Airlines account in France has been frozen by a French financial government agency that will be used for payment to Mr. Liberati following the verdict.
(Thanh Nien Daily Apr 2, Labor Apr 4 p7)
Vietnamese
