Mexico City Court Rules That Yahoo! Must Pay $2.7 Billion In Breach Of Contract With Worldwide Directories
Yahoo! said that they will be vigorously pursuing all appeals of a non-final judgement by a Mexico City court that ruled that they must pay $2.7 billion for breach of contract with Ideas Interactivas and its parent company Worldwide Directories. Yahoo! was supposed to work with the companies to release a printed Yellow Pages of business telephone numbers for Mexico.
“The plaintiffs alleged claims of breach of contract, breach of promise, and lost profits arising from contracts related to a yellow pages listings service,” said a press release. Yahoo! said that the claims have no remit.
Yahoo! de Mexico struck a deal with Ideas Interactivas that was announced in 2003. The Yellow Pages was supposed to be called “Yahoo! Páginas Útiles.”
The directory was supposed to have a website and a printed book. The books were supposed to have maps, a list of businesses, and landmark listings. It was also supposed to have offers and discounts.
There was supposed to be low-cost advertising options in Yahoo! Páginas Útiles. It was supposed to have an initial circulation of 800,000 free copies and a second print run of 1.7 million units.
Yahoo!’s total revenue was $1.2 billion last quarter and their profit was $226 million the quarter before. The $2.7 billion ruling would be quite painful.