WASHINGTON-The long-running legal battle between former Illinois wireless dealer Kempner Mobile Electronics Inc. and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. has taken a new turn as a federal appeals court reversed a lower court ruling, essentially finding that the nation’s top mobile-phone operator did not interfere with the dealer.
“The evidence in this case reveals that Cingular did nothing more to `interfere’ with Kempner than compete for business in the cellular phone market,” stated a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
Scott Kempner, vice president of Kempner Electronics, said he plans to file a petition for rehearing at the 7th Circuit this week. Kempner noted the fraud verdict against Cingular remains intact, adding that other agent lawsuits against Cingular are pending.
“We view this as a victory and are pleased with the outcome,” said Cingular spokeswoman.
