LONDON // A British judge granted an injunction yesterday against the Liverpool owners that could clear the way for the club’s sale to the parent company of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
The High Court judge, Christopher Floyd, issued an order against the legal action taken in Dallas by American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr.
Hicks and Gillett’s companies, meanwhile, filed a motion in Dallas asking that the Royal Bank of Scotland, New England Sports Ventures and Liverpool’s independent board members be held in contempt and jailed.
Hicks and Gillett had obtained a temporary restraining order on Wednesday blocking the £300 million (Dh 1.75billion) sale to New England Sports Ventures.
The British judge ordered them to withdraw their action by 4pm London time today or be held in contempt of court.
The Texas District Court judge, Jim Jordan, declined comment in Dallas when informed about the injunction in England.
David Chivers, the NESV lawyer, said the sale would go through once the Texas case is withdrawn. “We are the owners (of Liverpool),” Chivers told the High Court.
The British judge said the legal action in Texas amounted to “unconscionable conduct on the part of Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett”.
“This case has no real connection to Texas,” Floyd said. He criticised Hicks and Gillett for not telling the Texas court that the High Court in London had ruled against them earlier on Wednesday in their attempts to block the sale. “It’s a deliberate omission not to mention the fact,” Floyd said.
Despite the restraining order issued from Texas, the Liverpool board voted on Wednesday for the second time to approve the sale to NESV.
Richard Snowden, a lawyer representing Royal Bank of Scotland – which controls Liverpool’s debts and has been trying to get the sale approved – told the High Court that the Texas ruling was “inappropriate” and should have no bearing on the case.
“The Texas court seems to have been told remarkably little about the proceedings in this court,” Snowden said. “This is the most outrageous abuse of process ... the proceedings in Texas are plainly inappropriate. This dispute concerns an English football club and their English companies. It has nothing to do with Texas other than the fact that Messrs Hicks and Gillett may reside there.”
The legal wrangling continued on both sides of the Atlantic as Hicks and Gillett’s company filed a motion in Dallas asking that the Royal Bank of Scotland, NESV and Liverpool’s independent board members be held in contempt and jailed.
“Further showing their unlawful intentions and brazen disregard for their obligations, defendants have undisputedly – and, according to their statements, quite proudly – violated this court’s temporary restraining order,” the motion said.
Debts and liabilities resulting from Hicks and Gillett’s leveraged purchase of the club three years ago have grown to around £285m, which is owed to RBS and Wells Fargo and is due by today.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
The%20Specs
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
