Coutts looking at legal options

By DAVID LEGGAT

Russell Coutts could have a variety of legal options to consider if he wants to be sailing at the next America's Cup, but the first hurdle is likely to be the hardest.

Having been sacked by his Swiss employers, cup holders Alinghi, this week, Coutts is exploring ways to overturn the 180-day clause slipped into a rearranged cup protocol put in place just before the axing.

The clause is understood to have been teed up in a phone conversation between Alinghi boss Ernesto Bertarelli and Oracle chief, software billionaire Larry Ellison, whose syndicate is acting as Challenger of Record for the next cup regatta.

The move prevents a sailor who has spent 180 days working for a syndicate since the end of the previous cup regatta being hired by another for the 2007 event.

Among the possible alternatives for Coutts' legal advisers to consider would be:

* Applying to New York state, whose law governs the cup, with a view to restraint of trade issues.

* Looking at European law and whether it had any jurisdiction in the cup.

* Whether the 180-day clause, combined with the termination of his contract, amounted to an unfair restraint of trade.

The first step for Coutts and his lawyers is likely to be considering an appeal to the America's Cup jury. However the jury is bound by the provisions of the protocol.

It would not hear an application by an individual, but a team could appeal against an aspect of the protocol on behalf of a sailor.

If the jury - whose members include New Zealand lawyer Graham McKenzie - agreed to hear the appeal, irrespective of its final decision, it could have the effect of reducing the chances of a successful bid through another avenue as courts would be inclined to respect the cup jury process.

Alinghi last night put another stumbling block in place for Coutts. Syndicate spokesman Christophe Lamps said that Coutts would also be bound by a non-competition clause, which would prevent a sailor whose contract had been terminated from joining another syndicate.

Coutts is not about to give up having a role somewhere in the 2007 regatta without a fight.

"I'm going to have a look at what I can do about that," he told the Herald from Portugal. "I had some very clear understandings and commitments from [Ernesto] about what my role would be and they've not been honoured. He's breached a contract.

"I'm going to take a look at my options and take some decisions. Right now I've probably got plenty of options open to me."

One of Coutts' beefs with Bertarelli and Ellison's manoeuvrings is that it will make competing in the cup harder financially for new syndicates, who will have sailors insisting on longer contracts.