* Court stays ruling on MTN motion to dismiss
* To wait for outcome of Kiobel case
* Both cases use Alien Tort Statute
By David Dolan
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 13 (Reuters) – A U.S. court has delayed
ruling on a $4.2 billion suit by Turkish mobile operator
Turkcell against South African rival MTN Group
, pending a Supreme Court decision on a separate case,
the two companies said.
Turkey’s largest cell phone operator sued MTN in a U.S.
federal court in March, alleging the Johannesburg-based company
used bribery and attempted trafficking of political influence to
win a mobile licence in Iran that was first awarded to Turkcell.
MTN has asked for the case to be dismissed, saying the suit
has no legal merit and a U.S. court does not have jurisdiction
over the case.
The court has put the suit on hold, the two companies said
in separate statements late on Friday, to await a Supreme Court
decision on a different case using the Alien Tort Statute – the
human rights law on which Turkcell’s suit is based.
This month the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell, a high-profile case where
12 Nigerians accuse the Anglo-Dutch oil company of complicity in
human rights abuses in the African country.
Continued…
