2004

Former Sightholder Sues De Beers

Sep. 2004

Hell hath no fury like a sightholder scorned. W.B. David, a New York company that lost its sight last year, after having it for 30 years, filed suit in federal court against not just De Beers but 90 other defendants, including De Beers’ principals, their ad agency J. Walter Thompson, and all of De Beers’ sightholders.

“The De Beers cartel and its confederates and co-conspirators have inflicted serious injury on us,” W.B. David said in its statement.

The statement said the 140-page complaint case lays out De Beers’ history of “market dominance.” It describes J. Walter Thompson’s role as De Beers’ “U.S. agent and alter ego through which De Beers illegally conducts business in the U.S.”

What’s interesting is that this brief was filed before De Beers settled with the Justice Department, where it could be claimed that De Beers really was doing business in the United States. Whether the settlement will change that is unclear. But it is a sign that De Beers’ entrance into the U.S. market won’t be all rosy.