Delay, divert, obstruct.
That’s what a group of satellite-dish retailers say EchoStar Communications Corp. has done in response to their lawsuit against the company.
Air Communication & Satellite Inc. sued Douglas County-based EchoStar in Arapahoe County District Court in 2000.
Six years on, the case is mired in legal wrangling from both sides.
The Florida reseller of EchoStar’s Dish Network satellite-TV service claims EchoStar reneged on its contracts with retailers. Several other retailers have joined the case, seeking class-action status so that up to 20,000 individuals and companies may be included.
In court and regulatory filings, Echo Star said the claims are unfounded. It also blames the retailers for delaying the case by filing frivolous motions.
“We are vigorously defending against the suits and have asserted a variety of counterclaims,” EchoStar said in its 2005 annual report, in reference to the case and a related suit in federal court.
The retailers accuse EchoStar of obstruction, including destruction of evidence.
“EchoStar employed every conceivable tactic to stonewall and frustrate all progress in this litigation,” their lawyers said in a court filing last year.
The plaintiffs’ Colorado attorneys are Shelley Don, John Purvis and Robert Hill.
EchoStar is seeking to have the case dismissed, claiming in court filings that the plaintiffs have a weak case unsupported by evidence.
In 2002, the Colorado Supreme Court rebuked EchoStar for sending out a “misleading and coercive” letter that asked retailers to abandon any claims against EchoStar.
Separately, EchoStar refused to produce documents without a court order and then produced thousands of pages of papers that didn’t include “critical documents,” the retailers claimed in court filings. Though the case is in Arapahoe County, EchoStar produced the papers in Houston, where its attorneys practice, the retailers claim.
Additionally, e-mails and other documents “were either concealed from discovery or otherwise are no longer available because of widespread destruction and failure to preserve evidence … for nearly five years,” the plaintiffs claim.
In filings, EchoStar said it has produced thousands of documents as requested by the plaintiffs.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or at ggriffin@denverpost.com.
