The managing director of Piaggio is alleged to have told LML managing director Deepak Singhania, "Let us litigate, I can write off my investments in LML which is peanuts," at a meeting in Italy in May last year, according to LML's 147-page affidavit filed before the Company Law Board on July 24.
LML's reply to Piaggio's petition before CLB alleging mismanagement by the Indian promoters among other charges, has outlined a 17-year old long relationship between the sides.
The reply narrates the sequence of events from March 1998 which eventually led to both sides dragging each other before three different judicial authorities, where the cases are currently pending.
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In March 1998, a senior Piaggio official, Ugo Lanfranchi, visited LML on the occasion of its annual general meeting.
"Having failed to make the respondent company (LML) tow its line Piaggio's stated agenda was to discuss matters of cash flow from LML," states the reply.
Lanfranchi was insistent on receiving a confirmation from Singhania that LML would pay Piaggio lira 50 billion (including lira 11 billion during 1997-98) in spite of the fact that there was a significant reduction in the number of vehicles.
A meeting was held between Lanfranchi and Singhania in which "certain messages" were conveyed by Piaggio to its Indian partner, sta