skybluebeduff
Well-Known Member
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/council-says-taxpayers-325k-out-11772291
Leader says Sisu must pay all costs before authority helps football club stay at stadium and secure Academy's future
Coventry council says taxpayers are currently £325,000 out of pocket as a result of court action taken by the owners of Coventry City.
Now, council leader George Duggins has told the Telegraph club owners Sisu must pay the local authority the money before it will offer assistance with issues such as extending CCFC’s stay at the Ricoh Arena or securing the future of the Sky Blues’ under-threat Academy.
The council says its estimated court costs in relation to the ongoing judicial reviewsaround the Ricoh Arena are now £655,000 - including £500,000 spent defending itself in the High Court hearing and £155,000 at the Court of Appeal.
So far, Sisu has paid the council everything it has been ordered to pay by the courts after reimbursing the council for about half that amount - £250,000 for High Court and £80,000 for the Court of Appeal hearing.
The final figure to be paid will be determined by judges when the Supreme Court makes a final judgment in the saga, which has so far seen two court defeats for Sisu. But the council wants the legal actions dropped and the costs paid immediately.
If the council wins, or the case is dropped, it will be up to the courts to decide how much of the total council spend should be reimbursed. If Sisu wins, and the council is found to have acted unlawfully, the local authority will likely be forced to reverse the payments received to date and pick up Sisu’s costs.
It is estimated the total legal bill in the Ricoh Arena row is now well in excess of £1.2million.
Council leader George Duggins has pointed to the legal action as a red line in terms of rebuilding the relationship between the owners of Coventry City and the local authority.
He insists the judicial review, focusing on a £14.4m loan from the council to Ricoh operators ACL, must be dropped before any meaningful talks can take place.
He also wants to see a second scheduled court challenge dropped which would look into the council’s deal to sell its 50 per cent share-holding in ACL to Wasps.
Coun Duggins said: “There are significant costs outstanding in respect of the two judicial reviews.
“The costs owed to us are hundreds of thousand of pounds and that must be paid back before we can look to assist the football club in respect of the Ricoh Arena or anything else.”
The money to fund the council’s legal defence, which started in 2013, has been taken out of reserves. Although the council currently has more than £84.4m in cash reserves, the local authority insists this is money that could have been included in its budget forecasts and potentially allocated for other projects in the three years it has spent tied up in legal fees.
A spokesman for the council said: “The council has been awarded its costs of defending proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal, which are to be the subject of detailed assessment if they cannot be agreed. The £330,000 is essentially a payment on account.
“The council has three months from the date on which the Supreme Court determines the application for permission to appeal/any subsequent appeal (whichever is the later) to commence the detailed assessment process.
“If the Supreme Court granted permission to appeal, and the appeal is successful, the council would be liable for Sisu’s costs. Essentially if the position is reversed and we would have to pay back the £330,000.
“The general rule is that costs are awarded to the successful party.
“Although the council always has some flexibility in its reserves to deal with unexpected and necessary expenditure any legal costs to the council that are not met by Sisu will ultimately have to be funded from council reserves that could have been used for council services.”
Sisu’s legal action argues a £14.4m loan from the council to ACL made in January 2013 was unlawful state aid, not made on commercial terms and was a decision motivated by malice from within the council to prevent the football club securing a stake in ACL.
In June 2014, a High Court judge found the council had acted appropriately and included scathing comments in relation to Sisu in his judgment.
The hedge fund sought to overturn that decision at the Court of Appeal in February this year but failed as three law lords described the original judgment as “impressive”.
The football club owners have now launched a bid for a further appeal at the Supreme Court. A decision on whether a final appeal will be granted is expected before the end of the year with any appeal hearing unlikely to take place before 2017.
Leader says Sisu must pay all costs before authority helps football club stay at stadium and secure Academy's future
Coventry council says taxpayers are currently £325,000 out of pocket as a result of court action taken by the owners of Coventry City.
Now, council leader George Duggins has told the Telegraph club owners Sisu must pay the local authority the money before it will offer assistance with issues such as extending CCFC’s stay at the Ricoh Arena or securing the future of the Sky Blues’ under-threat Academy.
The council says its estimated court costs in relation to the ongoing judicial reviewsaround the Ricoh Arena are now £655,000 - including £500,000 spent defending itself in the High Court hearing and £155,000 at the Court of Appeal.
So far, Sisu has paid the council everything it has been ordered to pay by the courts after reimbursing the council for about half that amount - £250,000 for High Court and £80,000 for the Court of Appeal hearing.
The final figure to be paid will be determined by judges when the Supreme Court makes a final judgment in the saga, which has so far seen two court defeats for Sisu. But the council wants the legal actions dropped and the costs paid immediately.
If the council wins, or the case is dropped, it will be up to the courts to decide how much of the total council spend should be reimbursed. If Sisu wins, and the council is found to have acted unlawfully, the local authority will likely be forced to reverse the payments received to date and pick up Sisu’s costs.
It is estimated the total legal bill in the Ricoh Arena row is now well in excess of £1.2million.
Council leader George Duggins has pointed to the legal action as a red line in terms of rebuilding the relationship between the owners of Coventry City and the local authority.
He insists the judicial review, focusing on a £14.4m loan from the council to Ricoh operators ACL, must be dropped before any meaningful talks can take place.
He also wants to see a second scheduled court challenge dropped which would look into the council’s deal to sell its 50 per cent share-holding in ACL to Wasps.
Coun Duggins said: “There are significant costs outstanding in respect of the two judicial reviews.
“The costs owed to us are hundreds of thousand of pounds and that must be paid back before we can look to assist the football club in respect of the Ricoh Arena or anything else.”
The money to fund the council’s legal defence, which started in 2013, has been taken out of reserves. Although the council currently has more than £84.4m in cash reserves, the local authority insists this is money that could have been included in its budget forecasts and potentially allocated for other projects in the three years it has spent tied up in legal fees.
A spokesman for the council said: “The council has been awarded its costs of defending proceedings before the High Court and Court of Appeal, which are to be the subject of detailed assessment if they cannot be agreed. The £330,000 is essentially a payment on account.
“The council has three months from the date on which the Supreme Court determines the application for permission to appeal/any subsequent appeal (whichever is the later) to commence the detailed assessment process.
“If the Supreme Court granted permission to appeal, and the appeal is successful, the council would be liable for Sisu’s costs. Essentially if the position is reversed and we would have to pay back the £330,000.
“The general rule is that costs are awarded to the successful party.
“Although the council always has some flexibility in its reserves to deal with unexpected and necessary expenditure any legal costs to the council that are not met by Sisu will ultimately have to be funded from council reserves that could have been used for council services.”
Sisu’s legal action argues a £14.4m loan from the council to ACL made in January 2013 was unlawful state aid, not made on commercial terms and was a decision motivated by malice from within the council to prevent the football club securing a stake in ACL.
In June 2014, a High Court judge found the council had acted appropriately and included scathing comments in relation to Sisu in his judgment.
The hedge fund sought to overturn that decision at the Court of Appeal in February this year but failed as three law lords described the original judgment as “impressive”.
The football club owners have now launched a bid for a further appeal at the Supreme Court. A decision on whether a final appeal will be granted is expected before the end of the year with any appeal hearing unlikely to take place before 2017.
