Delaware Business Litigation Report

Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Claims for Tortious Interference and Civil Conspiracy in Connection with Telecommunications Merger

UbiquiTel v. Sprint Corporation, C.A. No. 1489-N, 2005 WL 3533697 (Del. Ch. Dec. 14, 2005, rev'd Dec. 19, 2005). UbiquiTel was the exclusive operator of Sprint's wireless network in several states pursuant to a management agreement. In December 2004, Sprint announced that it intended to merge with Nextel and that Nextel or its successor entity would be taking over much of the work that had previously been performed by UbiquiTel. In response, UbiquiTel sued Sprint and Nextel alleging a number of claims, including tortious interference and civil conspiracy against Nextel. Nextel moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The court denied Nextel's motion to dismiss, noting that (1) UbiquiTel had plead that although there was no breach yet, Sprint had anticipatorily repudiated its obligations under the management agreement, (2) UbiquiTel had plead that Nextel knew its actions would cause Sprint to breach its contract with UbiquiTel, citing as evidence several quotes from Sprint and Nextel's joint proxy statement, and (3) UbiquiTel had otherwise plead facts, which if true, would state claims for tortious interference and civil conspiracy. Share