Dates set for Team New Zealand America's Cup Case

Justice William Pauley has agreed to an Alinghi motion to hold a pre-motion conference and initial pre-trial conference for 20 June at 11.00am in New York.

The case has two fronts - firstly that of an anti-trust suit and secondly that Alinghi/SNG/Ernesto Bertarelli had breached a pre-entry agreement between themselves and Emirates Team New Zealand to stage an America's cup event in 2009.

At a media conference in early March, Emirates Team New Zealand's CEO Grant Dalton was clear that the running of an event (in which Emirates Team New Zealand and other Challengers could partake in 2009) was a pre-condition of their entry.

For their part Alinghi/SNG/Ernesto Bertarelli have argued that once Emirates Team New Zealand entered the 33rd America's Cup, that they came under the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Panel set up for that event.

The Swiss parties also claim that Emirates Team NZ entered the event in the full knowledge that legal action was underway by BMW Oracle Racing/Golden Gate YC at the time of their entry around the end of July 2007 (this was a standard clause in the entry form). However Emirates Team New Zealand said previously that their agreement with Alinghi/SNG/Ernesto Bertarelli was outside this entry document, and was a pre-condition of their entry. Had that pre-entry agreement not been in place then Emirate Team New Zealand would not have entered the then 33rd America's Cup.

Further Dalton argued that Alinghi/SNG/Ernesto Bertarelli had the ability to settle the dispute with BMW Oracle racing/GGYC under concessions discussed between all the parties but failed to do so.

This view prompted Dalton to comment that 'Ernesto Bertarelli only had to give away half a marble from his bag of one hundred marbles' to settle the issues surrounding the 33rd America's Cup and revert to a full multi-challenger event in 2009.

Subsequent events led to the confirmation of the Golden Gate YC challenge as being valid, subject to Appeal. That decision set the scene for the exclusion of Emirates Team New Zealand and other Challengers from the 33rd America's Cup - an outcome which Emirates Team New Zealand believe was totally within the ability and responsibility of Alinghi/SNG/Ernesto Bertarelli to avoid.

The papers lodged by the SNG legal representatives follow which led to the preliminary Court Hearings into these matters - which are quite separate from the action taken over the staging of the 33rd America's Cup by BMW Oracle Racing/Golden Gate Yacht Club.

For the earlier story in March see: www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=42433

by Richard Gladwell, sail-World

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