KUWAIT, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti telecom operator Zain

ZAIN.KW said it had won an appeal against a discrimination lawsuit filed by a member of the country's ruling family, according to a statement on the stock exchange on Thursday.

The lawsuit, filed by Sheikh Khalifa Ali al-Khalifa al-Sabah, accused Zain of unfair selection of members to the board of directors in April 2011.

Kuwait's Court of Cassation rejected the essence of Sheikh Khalifa's lawsuit in a hearing on Jan. 30 and ordered him to pay the fees associated with the case, the filing said.

The ruling was final since the court was the highest legal body in Kuwait for the suit, it added.

At the April board meeting, Sheikh Khalifa was voted off the board, and Bader al-Kharafi, the vice chairman of Kharafi Group was elected in his place.

Sheikh Khalifa had steadfastly and successfully opposed the Kharafi-led proposed sale of a 46 percent stake in Zain to Etisalat ETEL.AD , with the Kuwaiti company's feuding board one of the reasons why UAE's top telecom operator scrapped its $12 billion offer in March 2011.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Mark Potter)

((sylvia.westall@thomsonreuters.com)(+965 2240 8945)(Reuters Messaging: sylvia.westall.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: KUWAIT ZAIN/