Will Decide on AT&T; Damages for Denying Service in ‘70s : Jury Begins Deliberations in MCI Case

A federal jury began deliberations Wednesday over what damages MCI Communications should receive from American Telephone & Telegraph for being denied access to long-distance telephone lines in the 1970s.

MCI asked for $5.8 billion in damages, while AT&T; said the jury in the civil case should consider a figure between $7.5 million and $36.4 million.

An appeals court, while upholding the antitrust violation, voided a $1.8-billion judgment stemming from a 1980 trial--the largest award in U.S. history. The jury had awarded $600 million, which was trebled under the antitrust law.

AT&T;’s action in denying service was a “calculated, cold-blooded attack’ on MCI’s business, Chester T. Kamin, an attorney representing MCI, said in his closing arguments Wednesday. Kamin said AT&T; used “all its raw, naked power” to curb MCI’s attempts to enter the long-distance market.

“This was not an accident. This was an intentional, willful violation of one of our most important laws--the Sherman antitrust law,” Kamin said.

But H. Blair White, an attorney for AT&T;, said in his closing arguments that Kamin was appealing to the jurors’ emotions by trying to reduce the case to a small company fighting a monopolistic giant.

White said the jury should reject a new financial study that MCI presented at the trial. The study projects that the company lost $5.8 billion because of AT&T;’s actions.

The companies presented 18 witnesses over 17 days in the trial.

One of the major issues in the case was whether MCI should be compensated for losses associated with Execunet, MCI’s regular long-distance service.

White said Execunet was not in operation at the time of the antitrust violations and AT&T; shouldn’t be held liable for losses from the service.

The 11 jurors were asked to break down their verdict into two categories: damages for Execunet losses and damages for losses from private lines--MCI’s point-to-point service.

The appeals court threw out 15 of the 21 charges against AT&T.; The six remaining charges involve AT&T;’s refusal to provide MCI access to its long-distance network, interfering with MCI customers, providing MCI with inferior service and negotiating with MCI in bad faith.