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National carrier determined to see justice prevail
Vietnam Airlines will take its case to a higher court if the Rome Court of First Instance’s decision in a lawsuit brought by an Italian lawyer does not go in its favor.
The final hearing to consider the carrier’s appeal against a verdict made on March 7, 2000 by the Rome Tribunal Court, that Vietnam Airlines pay €5.2 million (US$6.89 million) to Maurizio Liberati, was held on April 2.
Judge Rosa Maria Dell’Erba gave the two sides 60 days to submit their final defense statements and 20 days after that to submit their opposing opinions. When the 80 days are up, the judge will examine the submissions and deliver the verdict.
“Vietnam Airlines will pursue the lawsuit to the end. We have never entertained the possibility of failure as we did nothing wrong,” Vietnam Airlines Vice President Trinh Hong Quang told Thanh Nien Daily in an interview.
The carrier may take the case to the International Court or another such forum, Quang said.
A decision in the airline’s favor will do more than make things right, it will not set a bad precedent for other Vietnamese firms doing business abroad, he said.
In 1992, Vietnam Airlines signed a Passenger Sales Agreement with Falcomar, an Italian company that used Liberati’s services on occasion.
In November 1994, the airline received a summons from the Rome Tribunal Court with regard to a lawsuit filed by Liberati against Falcomar and the carrier seeking compensation of nearly $300,000, supposedly owing for work he had done for Falcomar.
Vietnam Airlines did not respond to the summons as they believed it had nothing to do with them.
Since then, the court-ordered compensation has reached €5.2 million.
CEO Pham Ngoc Minh said his airline’s lawyers had submitted everything the Italian courts needed to make a fair decision.
“The Rome Court of First Instance has not yet given its verdict, and we hope the judge will consider the case in an impartial and fair manner,” he said.
“Once again, I affirm that Vietnam Airlines will explore every legal avenue to defend its legitimate rights and interests.”
Doing what it takes to get justice
After the Rome Court of Appeal rejected its appeal last December, Vietnam Airlines went to Italy’s Supreme Court and lodged another appeal on March 27.
The Vietnamese embassies in France and Italy, before the hearing on April 2, sent all the case documents to the relevant government agencies in the two countries, asking them to consider the case in a fair and objective manner.
Vietnam Airlines will ask the government’s permission to hold a press conference in Italy so that Italians can see why Liberati’s demands are unreasonable and why the court’s verdict was unjust and illogical, Minh said.
New evidence
Vietnam Airlines has been working with government agencies to explore every avenue so that the Italian judicial institutions will clearly see the real nature of the case, said Nguyen Van Du, the airline’s general manager of Legal Affairs and Inspection.
After the court ruled Vietnam Airlines liable to pay damages to Liberati, the airline appealed the decision but was rejected on the grounds that the appeal had not been filed within the stipulated deadline.
Vietnam Airlines subsequently discovered evidence of collaboration between Falcomar’s lawyer and the plaintiff in two letters dated September 23, 1996 and November 13, 1996, which bolstered its case that it was not liable for its agent’s dealings.
In these letters, according to Du, Liberati asked Falcomar to tell the court that the company had hired him to work for Vietnam Airlines, and then the company had been dissolved, thereby forcing the responsibility of paying the lawyer onto the carrier.
In reality, the airline never hired or asked Liberati to provide any service, and there was never an agreement, contract or any document authorizing him to do anything. Therefore, Liberati’s motion to take legal action against the airline as the second defendant is totally groundless, Du said.
The summons from the Rome Tribunal Court for Vietnam Airlines to attend the hearing in 1994 was the only document the airline ever received from the Italian courts.
Du said that besides the summons in 1994, neither the airline nor any member of the Vietnamese diplomatic mission in Italy received any summons in regards to any of the other hearings.
Vice President Quang said the lawsuit had affected Vietnam Airlines’ expansion plans for Europe, especially Italy.
“Had there been no lawsuit, Vietnam Airlines could have started direct flights between the two countries by now,” Quang said.
Bao Van
thanhnien
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