The Delaware Court of Chancery has dismissed with prejudice a fraud and misrepresentation lawsuit filed by Italian businessman Carlo Vichi, who provided financing to fund a joint venture between the world’s two largest electronics companies, Philips and LG Electronics. In the 183-page opinion, the court concluded that the plaintiff failed to prove his claims under either Delaware or Italian law.
“Ultimately, I conclude that Vichi has failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that Philips N.V. is liable for fraud, because Vichi has not demonstrated at least three necessary elements of that claim,” said Vice Chancellor Donald F. Parsons Jr. in Vichi v. Koninklijke Philips Electronics. “Specifically, Vichi has not shown that Philips N.V. acted with the intent to induce Vichi to enter the loan; that Vichi actually relied upon the allegedly misleading statements that he challenges; or that those statements and the nondisclosure of price-fixing caused his losses.”
