Yachting-Live

GGYC On Alinghi’s Decision To Appeal
Posted on the Golden Gate YC site:

Why has the defender appealed?

Lucien Masmejan, Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG)’s lead counsel, says they have appealed in order to “fast track the legal process.” He claims there is still no certainty as to a ruling on the dates. He also claims that the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) challenge is ambiguous and that, in contravention of the Deed of Gift, the GGYC is now tactically withholding vital technical information.

Our view is that this defender simply does not want to sail in any race that is not set up entirely on its own terms. These claims are just excuses to keep stalling. We expect Justice Cahn to make a ruling on the date for the next event any day. If the needs were for clarity and progress then surely it made sense to wait and see what the judge says. We are looking forward to seeing Justice Cahn’s decision as a sure way of moving the event forward. We are also very pleased that the Court rejected an SNG/Alinghi bid for an interim stay of Justice Cahn’s order declaring GGYC the valid challenger.

The defender’s claims about now needing more “vital information” are simply false and silly. They made the same claims when they unsuccessfully tried to reargue the case. They were dismissed by the court who upheld our view that we have supplied all the information required under the Deed.

This decision to go to the appellate court also contradicts previous and repeated assurances given by senior Alinghi team members and lawyers to the sailing community that they would not appeal.

What about Alinghi’s claim that they won’t be ready for a match in 2008 and that it is unfair to expect them to sail then?

The rules for all contestants are clear. Both teams have had the same time to get ready. At first, Alinghi falsely claimed there had been a “tolling” agreement for the event to be held in 2009. They were unable to support this in court and have since dropped this claim. Back in December Ernesto Bertarelli said Alinghi was committing “200%” to a race in 2008.

In every America’s Cup, the decision on when to start building your boat is a crucial tactical call. How they have chosen to play this has been a decision for Alinghi.

But the requirements of the Deed are clear and both teams have had exactly the same circumstances to contend with and time to prepare. Our priority is to keep moving forward.

Does this appeal mean we go right back to the beginning of the whole process?

No. We are confident the court’s decisions will be affirmed. Alinghi has had two chances to make their case and been rejected by the courts both times. We believe the court will require them to defend the Cup as set out in the Deed of Gift.

How long will the appeal process take?

An appeal has been set for June. We would expect a decision not long after that. But the important thing is that the timing for the match will not be affected by this appeal process.

Do you still expect to race in October 2008?

Yes. We remain confident our position is right and that the courts will confirm this.

www.ggyc.com

Popularity: 6% [?]

Listen to this podcast

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 9:19 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.