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Firm suing Diana fund pledges cash
LONDON, England -- The U.S. company suing a memorial fund for Britain's late Princess Diana says any damages it receives will go to charities supported by the fund. "When we have found out how much money we are going to be awarded by the court, we are then going to give it to charitable causes," said Franklin Mint spokesman Steven Locke. "In the past when we have given money connected to Diana we have always given it to charities that she supported in her lifetime," he added in an interview with BBC radio Saturday. The Princess of Wales Memorial Fund said Friday it was freezing payments of about £10 million pounds ($16 million) to more than 120 organizations as part of its fight against a lawsuit from souvenir company Franklin Mint. Andrew Purkis, the chief executive of fund said that more than 500 jobs within the fund and its beneficiaries were now under threat. The privately-owned Pennsylvania firm launched a $25 million "malicious prosecution" lawsuit last year to counter-sue the Diana fund after it tried but failed to stop Franklin Mint using her name and image for souvenir items in the United States. Locke said the fund had fought a "suicidal" legal action and should be held accountable for its "bad behavior," he argued. "The six years of vicious legal action that we have faced from the Diana Fund has cost us already millions and millions of dollars in legal fees," he said. "They have been fighting us for six years, they have lost at every stage throughout that six years. They have also waged a very nasty PR campaign against us, and we think they should be held accountable. "That is why we are taking this action. It is a classic example of malicious prosecution." Added Locke: "We don't understand why this year the Diana Fund is freezing this year's allocation because there is no legal or practical danger to this year's allocation. "I can guarantee to you that none of the end charities will lose out as a result of our action," he added. The Fund, first set up to channel £19 million ($30m) of gifts amid the outpouring of grief after Diana's 1997 death, said it was "legally obliged" to freeze new grants and payments of existing obligations. It says the freeze will affect hundreds of thousands of people dependent on the fund's charity payments. The fund, which has assets totaling £56 million ($91m), gives money to scores of Diana's favorite projects in the United Kingdom and around the developing world for the young, AIDS sufferers, the homeless and landmine victims. Franklin Mint told CNN in a statement Friday: "We were disappointed to learn today that the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund has chosen to suspend its charitable giving just as we were disappointed when they chose to sue us. "We have sued the Trustees of the Fund and their lawyers for malicious prosecution because we believe that they have acted in bad faith and that they should be held accountable for their actions. "But it is most definitely not a matter of money. "We intend to give to charity whatever we manage to collect after the costs of the lawsuit have been paid." Sid Shaw, who himself won a landmark battle over the rights to the Elvis Presley name, said he had warned the Diana fund against suing Franklin Mint. Shaw rose to prominence in 1997 when the High Court ruled that Elvis Presley Enterprises of America did not have the sole right to put the U.S. singing legend's title on their products. Speaking from his Elvis memorabilia shop, Elvisly Yours, in central London, Shaw told the UK's Press Association: "When I heard that the Diana fund was going to sue Franklin Mint I wrote to (then UK Prime Minister) John Major, who was legal guardian to Princes William and Harry, and the lawyers representing the Diana trustees, and said `please don't make the same mistake as Elvis Presley Enterprises, work with instead of against people, don't sue.' "They did, which was a great error, and I got a standard letter back, saying my letter had been forwarded to lawyers. "The Diana Fund should have written to these big companies and said `we would love to work with you, we are trying to raise money in Diana's memory.' "I can guarantee, all these companies would have agreed." Shaw added he had written to the Franklin Mint last night to tell them their legal action was "disgraceful."
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