Goooooooooooood.

[stsae]

Link: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news...0514-v3e2.html

Storm directors launch legal action
May 14, 2010 - 1:59PM
.AAP

The four independent directors of Melbourne Storm say they will commence legal action against the NRL in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The directors - chairman Rob Moodie, Petra Fawcett, Peter Maher and Gerry Ryan - made the decision unanimously, Moodie said.

Speaking at law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler on Friday, Moodie said the NRL's decision-making process in applying the club's heavy salary cap breach penalties was "not fair, impartial or transparent".

"The NRL also did not provide the club with an opportunity to obtain independent legal advice before imposing penalties or to argue about the appropriateness of the penalties that should be imposed."

Last month the Storm were fined over a million dollars, stripped of two premierships and had all premiership points for the 2010 season wiped after salary cap rorting over the past five years was exposed.

Moodie would not reveal who would fund the legal action, only saying they were supporters of the Melbourne Storm.

The Storm's owners News Ltd have said they will not support or fund the legal action and they disagree with it.

[Kingbilly]

"The NRL also did not provide the club with an opportunity to obtain independent legal advice before imposing penalties or to argue about the appropriateness of the penalties that should be imposed."

Well thats a crock of shit isn't it.

thats what an appeal is about I thought

[stsae]

Link: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/l...0513-v1pm.html

Melbourne have legal ace on side
ROY MASTERS
May 14, 2010

The legal advice recommending the directors of the News Ltd-owned Storm take action against the NRL for harsh and unjust punishment over salary-cap breaches was prepared by the barrister who won Rupert Murdoch the Super League war.

Leading Melbourne silk Allan Myers QC has prepared a writ citing procedural unfairness and failure to follow NRL rules in the penalties handed down by chief executive David Gallop. Myers, arguably Australia's most highly regarded silk, was the barrister hired by Murdoch to overturn the Federal Court judgment against News Ltd, leading to the establishment of a separate Super League competition and eventual peace with the ARL, which resulted in News winning control of television rights for 20 years.

The Storm's four independent directors, driven by the only woman on the board, marketing consultant Petra Fawcett, met last night to consider the advice - but their ultimate aim is mediation to recover the three minor and two major premierships stripped from the club.

The two News-appointed directors - The Herald and Weekly Times general manager Craig Watt and acting chief executive Frank Stanton - did not attend last night's meeting.

News Corporation chairman and chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has been briefed on the action, which not only pits him against Myers but potentially his mother, Elisabeth Murdoch, who is deified by the Melbourne establishment. Myers and Elisabeth Murdoch, both generous philanthropists, have a close association via their interest in Aboriginal art and the Bradshaw rock paintings of the Northern Territory.

The NRL and News Ltd have seriously underestimated the passion in Victoria for the Storm, a team that was once merely Melbourne's NRL team but is now owned by a city that is perceived to be a long-term victim of north-of-the-Murray politics.

Senior executives of News Ltd, including boss John Hartigan, flew to the US early this week for a series of budget meetings with Murdoch.

NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was aware of the action and confirmed his office had been told of the matter when Melbourne lawyers phoned NRL lawyer Tony O'Reilly on Wednesday. ''Some solicitors involved in the action contacted Tony O'Reilly yesterday,'' Gallop said.

Myers's advice cites News's conflict of interest - the company is the owner of the club punished and half-owner of the league that handed down the penalties - as a powerful argument in overturning Gallop's sanctions in court. The independent directors - Rob Moodie and businessmen Peter Maher and Gerry Ryan, together with Fawcett - were advised by News executives that any legal action would have to be funded by themselves. As reported in Tuesday's Herald, some directors are opposed to lengthy court action, fearing it will further damage the game but the strength of the legal advice has encouraged them to demand mediation. ''Petra is the one pushing it,'' a Storm staffer said, admiring the drive of the woman who Maher recruited a couple of years ago.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he was aware of the action and declared the football department would support the board, saying: ''It's the premierships we want back. We accept we have to take punishment this year for what has happened.''

There were smiles on the faces of Storm players for the first time in a month following the revelation of legal action on the Fairfax-owned 3AW radio station. Myers provided the final legal advice to Murdoch when the media magnate flew to Sydney with Arthur Siskind, News Corporation's New York counsel, to discuss whether to challenge the ARL's victory in the Federal Court during the Super League war.

Myers was the only Melbourne lawyer in what was essentially a Sydney team gathered to offer advice and was emphatic News Ltd would win its appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court.

With the Sydney lawyers equivocal in their advice, Murdoch turned to Myers and said: ''So we're going to win?''

Myers used a very Sydney expression, replying: ''Too right.''

That a conservative Melbourne lawyer with no history in what was essentially a Sydney case stuck his neck out was enough to impress Murdoch and he agreed to proceed to the successful appeal. Now Myers is on the other side, acting for the independent directors of a News-owned club against a league, half-owned by News, over penalties handed down by a former News lawyer in consultation with executives of News.

[Guest]

Just bear in mind, you haters of everything non Roosters, that as you salivate like a bunch of pissed bush lawyers with your ill-informed legalise, and your rehashing of what you heard Danny Weidler say, that this article comes from News Ltd's arch rival and print media competitor

None of you have the faintest idea regarding the details of this whole episode

But blaze away regardless...

It's all fun reading

[Guest]

Just bear in mind, you haters of everything non Roosters, that as you salivate like a bunch of pissed bush lawyers with your ill-informed legalise, and your rehashing of what you heard Danny Weidler say, that this article comes from News Ltd's arch rival and print media competitor

None of you have the faintest idea regarding the details of this whole episode

But blaze away regardless...

It's all fun reading

Of course you do. Are you permitting people to have an opinion your royalness?

[Guest]

Of course you do. Are you permitting people to have an opinion your royalness?

No I don't actually

And nor do I pretend to

These opinions are worthless, expressed by haters who have no clue

about as worthwhile as discussing the findings in the 1987 Case of Boynton and Co (Limited) v Comalco. What about Justice Grove's statement conncerning whether or not Comalco should have been "reasonably expected" to have prior knowledge. That was incredible! We still talk about it now...

stick to banging on about SKD, Kane Linnett and Charlie Tonga

[Guest]

No I don't actually

And nor do I pretend to

These opinions are worthless, expressed by haters who have no clue

about as worthwhile as discussing the findings in the 1987 Case of Boynton and Co (Limited) v Comalco. What about Justice Grove's statement conncerning whether or not Comalco should have been "reasonably expected" to have prior knowledge. That was incredible! We still talk about it now...

stick to banging on about SKD, Kane Linnett and Charlie Tonga

You'll notice that I don't and haven't. It doesn't bother me that others do. That is one of the reasons for this forum site. To let people vent their opinion. If you don't like them you have the option of not reading them. I don't know you personally and if you are anything like what you post, I don't think I want to. Try getting off your soap box and enjoy the site for a change instead of trying to preach to everyone.

[Guest]

You'll notice that I don't and haven't. It doesn't bother me that others do. That is one of the reasons for this forum site. To let people vent their opinion. If you don't like them you have the option of not reading them. I don't know you personally and if you are anything like what you post, I don't think I want to. Try getting off your soap box and enjoy the site for a change instead of trying to preach to everyone.

I'm sorry you feel that way

you sound like a decent fellow as well

It's not that I don't "like" their posts. Nothing to do with it

They need help, and I'm helping them

They don't know it, but that's precisely why I need to do it

I expect they'll thank me at some stage down the track

at some stage

[Guest]

Somehow I doubt it.

[melon....]

No I don't actually

And nor do I pretend to

These opinions are worthless, expressed by haters who have no clue

about as worthwhile as discussing the findings in the 1987 Case of Boynton and Co (Limited) v Comalco. What about Justice Grove's statement conncerning whether or not Comalco should have been "reasonably expected" to have prior knowledge. That was incredible! We still talk about it now...

stick to banging on about SKD, Kane Linnett and Charlie Tonga

And you stick to bagging Anasta and picking up the editor's coffeee in the morning.

[TheBigFella]

I don't believe that this is a good thing.. It'll do more damage than has already happened... Hopefully News stick to their guns & sack the board like threatened..

I'm not a news fan, but i do think that the penalty was fair!

[TheBigFella]

Do the players now realise that their incomes & hidden payments will now be out in the public domain..

[Rooster_6]

Just bear in mind, you haters of everything non Roosters, that as you salivate like a bunch of pissed bush lawyers with your ill-informed legalise, and your rehashing of what you heard Danny Weidler say, that this article comes from News Ltd's arch rival and print media competitor

None of you have the faintest idea regarding the details of this whole episode

But blaze away regardless...

It's all fun reading

Oh the ****ing irony... someone writing something about News Limited that might not be true

[Guest]

Just bear in mind, you haters of everything non Roosters, that as you salivate like a bunch of pissed bush lawyers with your ill-informed legalise, and your rehashing of what you heard Danny Weidler say, that this article comes from News Ltd's arch rival and print media competitor

None of you have the faintest idea regarding the details of this whole episode

But blaze away regardless...

It's all fun reading

That's true. The legal proceedings might cause the truth to come out. Is that why Hartigan and the fat cats at News are trying to shut it down by threatening to sack the "independent" directors?

[Guest]

Oh the ****ing irony... someone writing something about News Limited that might not be true

BAHAHAHAHA.......contender for post of the year.....