Team NZ seek 'millions' in compensation

MADRID, Spain -- The New Zealand syndicate for the next America's Cup has revealed they are seeking "tens of millions of euros" in compensation from Swiss champions Alinghi over the event's postponement.

Team New Zealand have filed a case with a New York court claiming damages for breach of contract, arising from an agreement covering their entry for the 33rd edition of yachting's showpiece.

The agreement included an "understanding entered into by (Alinghi boss) Ernesto Bertarelli that the America's Cup would go ahead in 2009," they said in a statement.

"It's now probable we might not see a normal regatta until 2011," Team New Zealand's managing director Grant Dalton said in the statement. "We have a duty to protect the investment in the team over many years by a wide range of loyal supporters.

"We also have an obligation to honor the trust shown by the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who have supported the team through the years," added Dalton.

Alinghi retained the America's Cup by beating Team New Zealand in a hugely successful staging of the 32nd edition of the race in the Spanish port of Valencia in July.

But the next edition of the race was indefinitely postponed because of a legal dispute between Alinghi and US syndicate Oracle over the rules.

Team New Zealand said it has also filed a second case in a Federal Court under US anti-trust laws.

That suit claims Alinghi "has acted to stifle competition for the Cup and for the right that goes with it of conducting future events" by accepting the Spanish syndicate Desafio as its challenger of record, "thereby enabling it to impose rules for the next event that were competely one-sided."

Last July, Oracle filed a lawsuit in the US against Alinghi's decision to name Desafio as its official challenger, which gave it the right to negotiate the format of the America's Cup with the Swiss syndicate.

In November, a New York court ruled in favor of Oracle and said the US team should be Alinghi's challenger of record.

"Bertarelli had the chance to accept a reasonable proposal from Oracle, which was also signed by the majority of the challengers, and which would have allowed the America's Cup to be held in 2009," Dalton said. "It chose not to do so."

"The delay in staging the next America's Cup is harming every challenging syndicate as they have to stretch budgets for a two-year campaign over three or perhaps four years."

A spokeswoman for Alinghi said the syndicate has not yet received any official notification of a suit, "and should we do so, we have been advised not to make any comment until our legal team has fully reviewed the issues."

The format of the 33rd America's Cup challenge is subject to an imminent ruling by the New York court, with a multihull duel between Alinghi and Oracle seen as the most likely outcome. The two teams have begun training in cataramans in Valencia in preparation for such an event. E-mail to a friend