Baker & McKenzie, along with client Yahoo, has been accused of perverting the course of justice in Mexico and arranging for a secret meeting between two judges, Bloomberg and Legal Week reported.
The claim surrounds a Yahoo appeal to a 2012 $2.7 million damages award against Yahoo in favor of Mexican companies including Worldwide Directories. The plaintiff had claimed that Yahoo failed to honor contracts relating to a directory service
The plaintiffs allege that, before a decision was given on Yahoo’s appeal to this award, Yahoo and its lawyers arranged for a secret meeting between a senior Mexican judge and the appellate judge. They claim that the senior judge had a major influence on the appellate judge, ‘intimidating her and ultimately directing her and her panel to enter a corrupted judgement in favour of Yahoo’. The appeal court went on to reduce damages to $172,500 and awarded damages of $3 million in a counter claim, according to the lawsuit filings by the plaintiffs. Sources:Bloomberg; Legal Week
