Motorola wins Iridium court fight

Motorola prevailed today in a lawsuit filed by creditors of satellite provider Iridium.

The plaintiffs had sued to force Motorola to repay $3.7 billion it had charged for the construction of 66 Iridium satellites in the late 1990s. Iridium famously declared bankruptcy nine months after launching satellite-based telecom services aimed at large businesses. Its creditors claimed Motorola, originally Iridium’s parent, essentially set up Iridium to fail, controlling aspects of its business while setting itself up as Iridium’s chief supplier.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge ruled today that Motorola was not at fault, citing widespread optimism toward Iridium in the investment community.

Today’s decision follows a 2002 ruling in which a judge ordered Motorola to pay $300 million to Iridium, which Motorola appealed.