Yahoo Finance The 'I will destroy you!' remark that cost $655 million
It's been 14 years since Paul Carlucci, the former publisher of the New York Post and now the chief of News America Marketing, both owned by News Corp., said the words, "I will destroy you!" in a meeting with a company that was fighting a potential takeover by News.
So far, those words, and other actions and policies that Carlucci allegedly either proceeded over, or turned a blind eye to, have cost News Corp. around US$655 million (A$692m) in legal fees, reports Business Insider.
The latest group to sue over the actions is a US based retirement provider, the Iron Workers Mid-South Pension Fund, alleging its stockholding in News Corp. was damaged by the legal actions, which are ongoing, according to Courthouse News.
News Corp. was initially sued by a number of companies in the grocery and supermarket coupon business. They alleged that News America Marketing, which controlled roughly half the coupon business in the area at the time, engaged in unlawful anti-competitive practices to maintain its dominance.
News Corp. lost a number of suits on the issue, eventually giving up the fight and settling them all for $655 million.
Once details of how News Corp. had restricted clients from getting more competitive deals leaked out, some of those advertisers sued News, alleging their own damages. Big names in the industry like Dial Corp.and Heinz have both since sued News with suits initiating from the original allegations.
The Iron Workers pension fund suit alleges that these latest lawsuits mean that News has not sufficiently dealt with the original issue, and may yet suffer more liabilities, further damaging its stock. It asserts the company is still under federal investigation for allegedly hacking into the computers of a rival coupon company, for instance.
These types of "derivative" suits from stockholders while not uncommon among public companies are often opportunistic.
The "I will destroy you!" quote has become infamous in the grocery business. It was reportedly delivered at a lunch between executives of News America Marketing and Floorgraphics, another company that offered in-store ads inside supermarkets. Courthouse News says the meeting went badly:
"Defendant Carlucci made no secret that defendant R. Murdoch was personally instructing him to go after News America's competitors," the complaint states. "In fact, according to the founders of Floorgraphics, George and Richard Rebh, defendant Carlucci once told them, 'I will destroy you. I work for a man who wants it all, and doesn't understand anybody telling him he can't have it all.' The 'man' defendant Carlucci was referring to, of course, was defendant R. Murdoch."
The case was filed June 7.
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