BONN, Germany -- The French media group Vivendi was again unsuccessful with its US lawsuit against Deutsche Telekom concerning alleged “theft“ of 48 percent of the shares of the Polish mobile provider PTC.

The district court in Seattle in the US state of Washington yesterday (Thursday) rejected Vivendi’s lawsuit filed against Deutsche Telekom on the basis on the so-called “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” (RICO). In its decision the court reproached Vivendi for attempting to make courts worldwide responsible for reaching a decision in favor of the company (forum shopping).

To quote the US decision: "An examination of the record reveals that Vivendi S.A. has sought relief in numerous courts for the alleged theft of the PTC shares and, when it is not satisfied with the results in a particular forum, if finds a different forum and files a new lawsuit or arbitration hoping to obtain a different result. This court is just the latest stop on Vivendi S.A.'s world-wide search to find a court to rule in its favor."

Just a few weeks ago, a French court rejected a lawsuit by Vivendi against Deutsche Telekom concerning PTC. Similarly, Austrian courts, including the High Court, had previously rejected lawsuits seeking the revocation of the 2004 Vienna arbitral award.

Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)