A Utah district court has dismissed with prejudice all of digEcor's remaining claims against competing portable in-flight entertainment (IFE) firm - and former partner - e.Digital, and ordered that it recover no damages or injunctive relief.
DigEcor and e.Digital have been embroiled in contractual disputes for years. A partial ruling this spring dismissed digEcor's claim that e.Digital breached a covenant of non-competition. It also held that e.Digital had breached its contract with DigEcor by failing to deliver batteries.
However, the outstanding issue of whether e.Digital owes digEcor a refund has now been settled. Judge Clark Waddoups in a ruling last week dismissed digEcor's claims for breach of a November 2005 purchase order between the parties, breach of a 'digital rights management' agreement, and breach of an 22 October 2002 agreement.
All claims were dismissed "with prejudice and on the merits". The court also declined to grant digEcor any injunctive relief in connection with the digital rights management-related claim.
"We are pleased with the court's rulings and look forward to next month's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition, where we'll be meeting with current and prospective eVU portable IFE customers," says e.Digital senior vice-president Robert Putnam.
Brent Wood, CEO of digEcor, says: "Are we disappointed with the outcome? Sure. However, the suit was necessary to force e.Digital to perform on its last production contract with digEcor. The failure to prevail on some damages claims for late delivery doesn't change anything. It is almost moot. Who we are and what we do is no different today than yesterday. We continue to partner with airlines to find innovative solutions to IFE. We continue to develop programs that bring revenue to airlines enabling them to put high-quality entertainment and flexible devices in front of passengers.
"In fact, we invite everyone to come visit our booth at the WAEA show in a few weeks as we will be making several big announcements that will help propel digEcor and the IFE industry forward."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
