Harbinger Capital Partners filed suit against Dish Network...

Harbinger Capital Partners filed suit against Dish Network and CEO Charlie Ergen Tuesday, continuing a long-standing battle between the companies for control of LightSquared. Harbinger’s lawsuit also targets Sound Point Capital Management. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, seeks $1.5 billion in damages over claims Dish and Ergen had used “an illegal scheme involving mail and wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud, tortious interference, and abuse of process” to wrest control of LightSquared from Harbinger. The actions violated federal anti-racketeering law and a Colorado organized crime law, Harbinger said. LightSquared founder Phil Falcone, who’s also Harbinger’s senior managing director, resigned from the LightSquared board in June, as did four other Harbinger-appointed board members (CD June 20 p15). Dish had previously offered $2.2 billion for LightSquared but withdrew that bid in January amid a trial in New York federal bankruptcy court in which Harbinger claimed Dish fraudulently became LightSquared’s largest creditor (CD Jan 10 p7). Dish’s bid was never genuine and was an attempt “to displace Harbinger and thereby force a distressed liquidation in which [Ergen] could obtain the assets at an even greater discount,” Harbinger said in the lawsuit. A Harbinger spokesman confirmed the hedge fund had filed the lawsuit but had no further comment. Dish had no immediate comment.