Monday, January 05, 2009

Bill Koch files amicus brief

Related PDF documents
- Amicus curiae filed by William I. Koch


The "American barrage" of amicus briefs, filed in support of GGYC's position, continues unabated. After the New York Yacht Club and the San Diego Yacht Club it was Bill Koch's turn to file one, right on the first day of the year.

The arguments Koch's lawyers use in order to discredit the CNEV are practically the same to the ones in the other two briefs, but Koch gives much more emphasis on the financial part of the America's Cup. He argues that a one-sided event with all the cards stacked against the challengers will considerably diminish public interest, creating a vicious circle. The less public interest there is, the less sponsorship money will be available for challengers, making it even harder to mount a serious campaign. As a result, according to Koch, "the world's oldest and prestigious international trophy sport will die".

Bill Koch won the 1992 America's Cup with America3after defeating "Il Moro di Venezia" four to one. He was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993.

According to Wikipedia, William Ingraham Koch is the son of Fred C. Koch, founder of Koch Industries, a business empire based on oil refining that became the largest privately owned company in America. Bill worked in the company but eventually sold his share to his brothers, Charles and David, after a long legal battle.

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20 Comments:

At 10:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, wait a sec Bill Koch is supporting GGYC. It must be because he's an American. Guess the Alinghi bloc will say the same about John Bertrand next. What's next after that when RPYC & RNZYS speak out & SNG has only 2 cups out of 33 in experience?

Geeezzzz, Alinghi's read the Deed to understand what's going on. It has nothing to do w/ how successful the AC in Valencia was or how much employment it brought, how many boats & etc. It's about what the terms & conditions are of a Trust.

 
At 10:25 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is nothing wrong with making money off the America’s Cup. Nor is there anything wrong with bending the rules in favor of the defender. Both are long established traditions of the Cup.

Who said that? Bill Koch in 2000!!!

You can read it here: http://www.a3.org/AC2000tnz3.html

Well, as always, Americans contradict themselves

 
At 1:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The location of the AC is always determined by the defender, not by the challenger. Bill Koch s brief makes it sound like the challenger has the right to select the location - that is simply wrong!

 
At 2:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just another American trying to sell his bill of goods. Americans have not been successful AC sailors for almost 20 years, so now (again) they're throwing shite against the wall hoping that something will stick.

 
At 4:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is nothing wrong with the AC making money. Its when the AC is structured to guarantee that a profit is made is the problem. At least thats how I read Mr. Koch's brief.

As for bending the rules, well it happens in every sport contested in this world. But it can be said Mr. Berterelli is not bending the rules but re-writing them. There is the difference.

Mr. Berterelli's problem is BMWO called him on it and now past trustee's (with more AC credibility than Berterelli) and a past Defender are also joining the fray.

And now there are rumors that if the Appeals ruling favors SNG that there will be a move to the NY Attorney General to get SNG removed as Trustee. Ouch!

In the end both sides should of, and could of, resolved this like adults long ago. Both sides didn't and here we are. Berterelli rubbed it in BMWO's face with the AC33 Challenger meetings and wouldn't allow BMWO to participate. Berterelli played hard ball. It would appear BMWO has decided to match Berterelli.

 
At 4:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So why is then that Bertarelli sat with ALL THE TEAMS and they worked out a protocol?

BTW - Bertarelli didn't exclude BOR from the meetings, BOR excluded themselves by not registering for the 33rd AC. How can you expect to participate in a challenger meeting if you didn't register for the event?

 
At 5:31 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Remember, this is a guy who once sued his own mother. How screwed up is that ?

 
At 6:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

SNG/Alinghi dodged, ignored, and insulted BMWO for the year+ before the Challengers Meetings for AC33 took place. By that point why would BMWO give up their only trump card and join AC33 so they could participate?

ETNZ did just that and there is talk, based on comments by Brad Butterworth, that even though ETNZ dropped their lawsuit that they could still be brought up in front of the Arbitration Panel for future punishments when AC33 actually gets underway. Its also around this time that ACM started hounding Onorato and Mascalzone about the validity of their Challenge even though Mascalzone competed in AC32 and already payed the entry fee and was accepted.

So why would BMWO give up their court case considering what happened to ETNZ and Mascalzone? They didn't and they shouldn't have.

The main point is both sides, BMWO and SNG/Alinghi, should of mediated things long ago. SNG/Alinghi didn't think the court case would get this far and blew off BMWO. BMWO stuck to their guns as well, even built a boat for a DoG match, and here we are.

The main question I have for some on this site is, if AC32 was so fabulous then why not do what BMWO has asked and use the same protocol for AC33 that was used for AC32? For the last year plus SNG/Alinghi has used cartoons to insult and ignored BMWO's requests, while BMWO has been consistent with "Go back to AC32 rules and we'll drop the suit".

If AC32 was so fabulous then this mess should of been resolved long ago. BMWO wanted AC32 rules for AC33. Berterelli obviously doesn't want AC32 rules again. Why? Probably because the Cup match against ETNZ opened his eyes. And it had nothing to do with cost savings because money not spent on a second boat/crew will be spent somewhere else. Unless a salary cap is impossed those with money will find a way to spend it. Thats how the AC works.

*Sorry if a rambled threw this post. I am at work and had to get it all in quickly. Cheers!*

 
At 1:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

People need to understand that yes, there were problems with the initial protocol. But Bertarelli listened, sat down, and worked out a fair protocol together with all the teams of the world .... minus one team (BOR)! You may call that a publicity stunt, or you may call that conflict resolution.

Would have been a lot better for the AC if Mr. Ellison gotten of his high horse (just like Mr. Bertarelli did) and made an effort to work things out.

One cannot seriously expect to throw dirt at the other and hope to be invited to his garden party.

 
At 1:55 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, the 32nd AC was fabulous, and by account of just about everybody by far the best in its history. And that is precisely the problem: the Americans are pissed that Spain has put on a show vastly superior to anything before with a worldwide audience that rivaled Soccer World championships. That has never been done before. The organizer of the 32nd AC has done more for the AC than any of the previous organizers in terms of publicity for the sport of sailing.

Mr. Ellison is pissed because somebody beat him to the punch. He should have prepared better, and should have presented his challenge in time. However, just like his poor sailing in the cup (interestingly with a current AC champion on the helm) he missed the opportunity.

You snooze, you loose.

 
At 10:47 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

1.55am "the Americans are pissed that Spain has put on a show vastly superior to anything before"

Yes the 32nd AC was a great success, but if you really think that this comment you wrote has any bearing on the current status of the AC, I suggest you do a little more research before posting next time.

 
At 2:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes Valencia did a fabulous job. I don't think anyone has said otherwise. But to suggest that part of the reason for Larry Ellison to pull this court case is because he is jealous of what Valencia did is just plane stupid.

In fact Ellison has said many times that if BMWO was to win in a 1 on 1 match with Alinghi that BMWO would hold the next AC cycle in Valencia. Why would he do that if he was so jealous of what Valencia did? And lets not confuse Valencia's effort with Spain. From my understanding of how things work in Spain, the port re-birth in Valencia was not a National effort.

Its all moot now because rumor has it Ellison is pissed Valencia's Mayor, Rita Barbie-doll, filed a brief in favor of SNG/Alinghi so if BMWO comes out as the Defender when everything is settled odds are no more AC's in Valencia.

Regardless, whoring the venue for the AC out to the highest bidder is another Berterelli innovation that was a mistake.

 
At 4:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

well obviously it does have bearing, since there are people bashing the efforts of Mr. Bertarelli who singlehandedly put the AC on its highest level ever in its history. Fact is that the USA have been shown off, and that made them angry. Somebody else "has stolen their trophy" that even bears their name, and somebody else has put on a better show. So, what will the Americans do? They will block the whole event for ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD .... of course claiming they have everybody's interest at heart.

People need to realize that the only interest Mr. Ellison has, is to win the cup by way of court room strategies.

 
At 10:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Folks read the Deed as it doesn't matter how many boats, how much $, how many people employed, how many media viewers & etc. The AC being successful is irrelavant when it comes to the Deed's terms & conditions & NY Trust Law!!!

The NYSC doesn't care if the the AC's are a huge success if in the process the Deed & NY Trust Laws have been broken.

There is already talk on the Internet that the NY AG has been sent letters regarding SNG's failure to administrate the Deed within the bounds of the Deed & US Trust Law.


Again, it's about protecting the Deed which is a NYSC Trust & the impact it has on NY Trust Law. It's that simple & why the SNG/Alinghi camp continues to fail at understanding that is going to be their undoing on several fronts.

 
At 1:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"well obviously it does have bearing, since there are people bashing the efforts of Mr. Bertarelli who singlehandedly put the AC on its highest level ever in its history. Fact is that the USA have been shown off, and that made them angry. Somebody else "has stolen their trophy" that even bears their name, and somebody else has put on a better show. So, what will the Americans do? They will block the whole event for ALL THE REST OF THE WORLD .... of course claiming they have everybody's interest at heart.

People need to realize that the only interest Mr. Ellison has, is to win the cup by way of court room strategies."

First, the America's Cup is named after the boat that first won it. Not the country. There is a difference.

Second, if anything GGYC/BMWO is trying to save the Cup from corrupt Euro-trash that envision the America's Cup as sailings version of F-1. That is what the MedCup is for. Tooling around the Med for Euro's with to much money. The AC is special, and hopefully the NYSC and the NY Attorney General will settle this once and for all.

 
At 9:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WetHoggie, if the AC is so special, then why don't all those special sailors from the USA win one? They haven't in almost 20 years, their last attempt ended with a 0:5 blow out.

Grasping at the last straw with that legal strategy now, aren't we? Might as well get ready for another great "special" AC in Valencia, but without the BOR bullshit. That will be nice! All the other teams, sponsors, journalists, participants, businesses, EVERYBODY is waiting for the moment that the idiots from BOR will be out of the picture.

 
At 3:04 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ed Baird is an American is he not? You know him don't you Noberto? He was on the wheel from Alinghi. So it would seem someone from the U.S.A. won an AC very recently.

Keeping the America's Cup unique and not a MedCup circuit on bigger boats is worth a fight. If GGYC/BMWO loses their appeal in the NYSC I hope the NY Attorney General is contacted so SNG can be stripped of the burden of the AC.

That would mean the last trustee before SNG would get the cup. That is the RNZYS and ETNZ. So that means it goes back to New Zealand and not the U.S. of A. Still better than Europe.

 
At 3:05 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Knob Erto da sailor, what a guy. Unfortunately he knows nothing of the legal issues being contested here.
Ellison has said from DAY 1 that his preference would be for a multi challenger event should he win in court. That gives him no benefit over the other challengers. Grow up and stop whinging.
Berti is the one trying to steal the cup.

 
At 3:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It all comes down to the american way of live and understanding - the world police of everything. Loosing was always something they can not handle - why should the AC be an exception...

 
At 2:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"It all comes down to the american way of live and understanding - the world police of everything. Loosing was always something they can not handle - why should the AC be an exception..."

I am American and I don't like to lose so you are right. But who likes to lose? Europeans?

 

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