Jury upholds India Abroad's claim of $560,000 against Gujarat Samachar

A CORRESPONDENT
in New York

A jury has ordered the Gujarat Samachar newspaper to pay $560,000 to India Abroad for breach of contract even while asking India Abroad to release $279,000 it withheld in subscription revenues following Samachar's refusal to pay any share of its advertisement revenues.

The award, early this month, brought to an end a long-standing legal battle between the two newspaper groups arising from a lawsuit filed by Samachar before India Abroad's ownership changed hands in April.

According to the verdict, India Abroad conceded its obligation to pay the withheld subscription revenues, but claimed $560,145 towards its share of the advertisement revenues since 1994 and subscription revenues withheld by Samachar since 1999.

The jury deliberated for almost six hours before returning the verdict, which substantially vindicated India Abroad's position. While it awarded $279,000 to Samachar towards the withheld subscription revenues that India Abroad had conceded, it gave $560,000 to India Abroad, leaving the weekly with a net award of $281,000.

Krishnan Chittur, the attorney representing India Abroad, said the lawsuit was brought by Samachar claiming unspecified millions of dollars against India Abroad for alleged failures in the marketing of Samachar's North American edition.

Samachar had granted India Abroad exclusive rights under a 1983 agreement to publish a North American edition in Gujarati. India Abroad was to get 50 percent of the advertisement revenues and 90 percent of the subscription revenues. In turn, India Abroad was to promote, market, and distribute the language weekly and bear all the printing, postage, and distribution expenses. Samachar later claimed this 1983 arrangement was abrogated by a 1984 agreement and that India Abroad was not entitled to any share of the advertisement revenues. It was to get 90 percent of the subscription revenues only, Samachar claimed.

In 1996, Samachar's principal Nirmam Shah came here to renegotiate the arrangement. However, in December 1998, Samachar went back on the 1996 agreement, and refused to pay India Abroad any share of its advertisement revenues. India Abroad responded by withholding payment of Samachar's 10 percent share of the subscription revenues.

Matters came to a head when Samachar brought this action in federal court in Manhattan in August 2000. India Abroad filed a counterclaim, claiming a 50 percent share of the advertisement revenues prior to September 1996 and 15 percent thereafter.