J & J Celcom v. AT & T Wireless Services, Inc.

On March 26, 2003, plaintiff J & J Cel-com along with other former owners of minority interests in nine general partnerships involving cellular telephone businesses filed a diversity suit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging that the defendants, AT & T Wireless, Inc. (AWS) and nine of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, violated Washington State law when AWS sold its controlling interests in those partnerships to affiliated entities. The plaintiffs asserted claims of breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, breach of fiduciary duties, misrepresentation, tortious interference, and unjust enrichment. The defendants moved for summary judgment, and the plaintiffs cross-moved for partial summary judgment as to liability. The district court granted summary judgment in the defendants’ favor, and denied the plaintiffs’ motion. This appeal followed.

In a December 26, 2006, memorandum disposition, we affirmed the district court’s rulings on all issues save for one. We certified a state law question, framed as follows, to the Washington Supreme Court in a separate order:

J & J Celcom v. AT & T Wireless Services,…