Judge throws out T-2’s EUR130m damages claim against Telekom Slovenije

The District Court of Ljubljana has dismissed a EUR130 million (USD173 million) damages claim by Slovenian alternative broadband operator T-2 against incumbent Telekom Slovenije, after closing the trial at the first hearing as it found that T-2 did not provide sufficient evidence concerning the amount of the claim. As reported by the STA press agency, T-2’s legal action against Telekom stretches back to 2007, alleging that the former monopoly telco abused its dominant market position in obstructing the altnet from offering VDSL-based broadband access. T-2 expressed dissatisfaction with the way the latest court hearing was conducted, and was reported to be considering its next legal move. In a tit-for-tat legal fight, in February 2012 courts rejected Telekom’s demand for receivership at T-2, allowing the latter to go ahead with a debt restructuring plan to repay creditors 44% of claims totalling around EUR180 million by 2020.