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Yahoo "Loses" $2.7B In Mysterious Mexican Yellow Pages Lawsuit

An anonymous reader writes "CNN reports that a Mexico City court has ordered Yahoo to pay $2.7 billion to Worldwide Directories and Ideas Interactivas. The classified directory publisher sued Yahoo, claiming various losses and breaches involving 'contracts related to a yellow pages listings service.' Yahoo announced its intention to appeal but is saying little else about the case."

25 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. Yahoo's take by clickclickdrone · · Score: 2, Informative
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    I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
    1. Re:Yahoo's take by afaik_ianal · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://investor.yahoo.net/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=724306 will work better (without the trailing slash).

    2. Re:Yahoo's take by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative
  2. classified directory? by aneroid · · Score: 3, Funny

    "classified directory" vs "classifieds directory"

  3. Easiest explanation by Hans+Adler · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Someone just sufficiently far removed from the judge made a bet on Yahoo's shares falling just about this time.

  4. Interesting figure by Kergan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Isn't 2.7Bn larger than the combined market value of every yellow pages business in the world combined? Might anyone know how the Judge came up with a figure this large?

    1. Re:Interesting figure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The judge is probably related to the plaintiff. :)

      They probably see it like winning the lottery. cha-ching!! profit!!

    2. Re:Interesting figure by Iamthecheese · · Score: 3, Insightful
      --
      If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
    3. Re:Interesting figure by rgbrenner · · Score: 5, Informative

      Have you ever seen how much yellow pages charges each of the companies to be listed in it? It's not craigslist.. those listing can be expensive.

      Earlier this year, ATT sold part of it's Yellow Pages operation for close to a billion dollars. The division is valued at $3.9billion:
      http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=ec6803ce-4128-42be-bc43-eb1534853efd

      Look at the chart on this page:
      http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-22/the-golden-allure-of-the-yellow-pages

      revenue:
      att: 3.3 billion
      dex: 1.5b
      supermedia: 1.6b
      yell group: 1.5b

      share of TOTAL US ad spending: ~8%

  5. Be careful Mexico by Gothmolly · · Score: 2

    You may find that the San Sebastian Data Center has been stripped down to the barest minimum of equipment.

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    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
  6. Re:Well? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well they pay people to post on anonymous internet forums about how they're more than just a search engine, for one.

  7. Re:Well? by In+hydraulis · · Score: 2, Informative

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!_Japan
    http://www.yahoo.co.jp/

    Yahoo is actually really big over there. eBay exists, but may as well not: Yahoo! Auctions is overwhelmingly dominant in online auctions. Yahoo! Shopping takes the role of Amazon.com. (Amazon itself has a presence also, and it isn't too shabby.) And Yahoo! Japan is also a broadband provider with a lot of mindshare.

    They've diversified. Wisely so.

  8. Re:Call me a cynic... by Sulphur · · Score: 3, Funny

    First the Samsung judgement, now this... its open season with litigation out there.

    The information superhighway needs fences to keep the liti-gators off the road.

  9. Re:Well? by RaceProUK · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yahoo is more than just a search engine.

    Like what?

    An exclamation of joy.

    --
    No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  10. Re:Does Yahoo even still exist? by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    >> Yahoo is more than just a search engine.

    It can also cut through these beer cans, and look, it's still sharp enough to slice these tomatoes...

  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. question by shentino · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are they sure that's dollars and not pesos?

  13. Re:Well? by In+hydraulis · · Score: 2

    Read the whole thread for context.

  14. Re:Meh by rudy_wayne · · Score: 2

    And if they ignore the ruling what happens? Just because a court in some country rules against you doesn't necessarily mean that there's any consequence.

    From one of the other links posted earlier:

    "he 49th Civil Court of the Federal District of Mexico City has entered a non-final judgment of U.S. $2.7 billion against Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.

    I don't exactly know why there needs to be a Yahoo de Mexico, but that puts them on the hook for whatever amount the corrupt Mexican court wants to decide.

  15. Re:it is ignorant to do business in mexico by SternisheFan · · Score: 2

    Well, of course. If the U.S. were to call off its war on drugs, the extreme profit motive would cease. Remember how the U.S. Col. Oliver North funded several mini-wars by allowing the crack epidemic of the 1980's, while the president and his wife told kids to ''Just say no to drugs'? Drugs are illegal because it is more profitable that way.

  16. Re:If the USA jumped off a bridge, Mexico... by Lithdren · · Score: 2

    Not too clear to me why I cannot question the integrity of a foreign court, just because my own court system has done some questionable things.

    I can question the integrity of a foreign court, just as I can question the integrity of a domestic court. You dont get to decide what I can question, thanks.

  17. Statement from Yahoo CEO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Why must we peso much?"

  18. Re:Meh by Sentrion · · Score: 2

    In most countries a business is required to establish a local legal entity to operate within it's borders. At a bare minimum most nations require the appointment of a registered agent based in the country. This is intended to protect local citizens and businesses from businesses based in other countries that do business within their borders. It is also important for complying with local laws and regulations, and payment of taxes applicable to business carried out within their borders. If you are harmed by a foreign business you have a much harder time suing them or collecting judgments if they do not have a local presence.

    In theory there is some protection for the foreign business in that the national legal entity functions as a subsidiary of the foreign-owned parent company. A litigant might be able to take all assets owned by the national legal entity, but face a much harder time collecting from the parent company based in another country.

  19. It's not going to happen by physlord · · Score: 3, Funny

    I don't think that is the last word on the subject. Yahoo seems to be too little worried about this.

    An off topic comment:
    As a Mexican it's funny to read slashdoters opinions about my country. If you come here you would be surprised that there are a bunch of us with high speed internet, cars, smartphones, etc. We are not involved in shootings every day around each corner and we don't speak the same Spanish than the "mexican-americans", actually our culture is quite different. Believing in what the TV says about a country and establish prejudices based on that is simply wrong. Based on what I have seen about US citizens on the news I would assume they like to drink a lot and show their parts to strangers, they start shooting people randomly at schools, theaters or workplaces, most of them are ignorant. Do you know what makes the US different from yogurt? If you leave them both 300 years unattended, the yogurt will grow a culture.
    You see?, prejudices are wrong.

  20. It's all in the lingo by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2

    Bear with me here ...

    Japanese syllables generally start with a consonant and end with a vowel, or are a vowel alone. Thus "McDonalds" is something like "ma ku do na ru do" and a Big Mac is a biggu makku.

    For some reason, they used the American pronunciation of "Mexico" (meks sih ko) as the basis for their word, which comes out as "may kee shi ko". But the Spanish pronunciation "may hee ko" copies over almost perfectly into Japanese. It's a shame they copied the wrong pronunciation.

    I suppose the proper pronunciation could be coming into vogue. It ought to be.

    But there's your Japanese Mexico USA connection.