NY court backs US syndicate Oracle in AmCup dispute
MADRID: A New York court has ruled in favor of US syndicate Oracle in a legal dispute with Swiss champions Alinghi over the rules for the next America's Cup, Oracle said Tuesday.
The dispute has already forced the organizers to postpone the next edition of yachting's showpiece event, originally scheduled to take place in Valencia, Spain in 2009.
"The Golden Gate Yacht Club today welcomed a ruling by the New York State Supreme Court that its challenge for the 33rd America's Cup was valid," the GGYC, which represents BMW Oracle Racing, said in a statement.
Alinghi said it was "disappointed" by the court's decision and planned to meet with GGYC to discuss the organization of the next edition of the race.
"There will now be a thorough review of the judge's decision and an analysis of the various options offered by the Deed of Gift," the decades-old regulations that govern the America's Cup, Alinghi said in a statement.
GGYC also said it would meet with Alinghi to try and organize a "conventional America's Cup competition in Valencia in 2009."
"We are very pleased by the decision as it enables everyone to focus on getting the Cup back on track quickly," Russell Coutts, the CEO of BMW Oracle Racing team, said in the statement.
Alinghi, which represents Societe Nautique de Geneve, beat Team New Zealand 5-2 to win the 32nd America's Cup in Valencia in Spain in July, and with it the right to organize the defense of the trophy, along with its official "challenger of record".
But Oracle filed a lawsuit accusing Alinghi of adopting rules which were unfairly weighted in the Swiss defender's favor.
San Francisco-based Oracle wanted Alinghi to drop the Spanish team Desafio, represented by the Espanol Club Nautico Espanol de Vela (CNEV), as its "challenger of record" and change the new rules, which include the introduction of a new, larger boat class.
The US team argues that the Spanish syndicate is an invalid challenger since it never held a regatta as required in the regulations.
"We are disappointed that a technicality made the CNEV invalid and we are now looking forward to discussions with the Golden Gate Yacht Club to keep the America's Cup functioning," Alinghi president Ernesto Bertarelli said Tuesday.
The statement marked a change in the position of Alinghi, which said last week it would have no further discussions with Oracle if the court ruled in favor of the Americans.
"All options are open," a source close to Alinghi told AFP, adding that a decision would be made within a few days.
The legal dispute last week forced the organizers, AC Management, to postpone the event, without setting a new date.
"The ongoing uncertainty around the conclusion of the New York court case brought by BMW Oracle Racing leaves the organizers no choice but to delay the event, as many indicators demonstrate a lack of viability to stage the event in 2009 to the same standards as the 32nd America's Cup," AC Management said on November 22.
The last America's Cup in Valencia featured 11 challengers. It was the first time that the event was held at a European port in its 150-year history.
AFP
(China Daily 11/29/2007 page23)
