ICE Appeals Miami Court Ruling

The phone company, ICE, plans to appeal a ruling of the Miami (FL) Circuit Court Judge Pedro Echarte that would transfer a suit against Alcatel-Lucien from the United States to a Costa Rican court.

The suit was filed under Florida racketeering statutes and claimed damages from Alcatel’s admitted bribery of Costa Rican officials and ICE officials. A criminal corruption trial is currently in progress in this country against ICE officials and former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez has dragged on for more than a year.

The judge's ruling did not contain the stipulation desired by ICE to waive the statute of limitations, an advantage to the plaintiff, ICE, if the case is transfered to the Costa Rican venue. Often, time limits run out in local courts before cases come to trial due to the slowness of legal procedures here.

Already, an Alcatel executive was found guilty and sentences to prison in a U.S. bribery case. Alcatel has agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines to the SEC and to the U.S. Justice Dept.

Florida statutes are such as to offer advantages to ICE as plaintiff.