February 9, 2001

DALLAS A jury on Thursday ordered Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu and four co-defendants to pay $454.5 million in damages to a Dallas company, saying they conspired to derail the firm's plans to open CompUSA stores in Mexico.

The company, COC Services Ltd., said its exclusive agreement to open the stores hinged on finding an investor. Slim expressed interest in helping them finance the deal, but COC's owners testified that Slim and his associates halted talks after gaining insider information about CompUSA, which Slim bought a few months later for $800 million.

COC, which consists primarily of three Dallas-based investors, sued Slim, CompUSA, former CompUSA Chief Executive Jim Halpin and two companies controlled by Slim. The state jury awarded $90 million in actual damages for lost profits and $364.5 million in punitive damages. Halpin bore the brunt of the jury's decision, which said he should pay $234 million. Slim was ordered to pay $90 million, with the companies paying the remainder.

In an interview in Mexico City, Slim said, "We think this is an unjust decision. We will obviously appeal."