| USA. Tiger Woods & Christensen settle $50 million law suit for $1.6 million, but insurer won’t pay |
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| Saturday, 06 May 2006 | |
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Marian Martin Megayacht builder Christensen Shipyards’ insurer, St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance, has filed a federal court lawsuit against the shipyard. The insurance company claims that a $1.6 million settlement, made between lawyers acting for Christensen and golfer Tiger Woods, on April 24, was made without its approval. In October 2004, not long after his marriage, his wife – the model Elin Nordegren – saw pictures of herself an Woods, by a megayacht that the Christensen shipyard was building for the golfer. Woods filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeking damages of $50 million, which he claimed was the value of his endorsement of the product. His bride made a sworn statement, in which she said "Christensen's unauthorized disclosures invade the privacy of my family and my husband and has caused us harm that cannot be fully compensated by monetary damages," Nordegren's statement reads. She says the yacht was intended as a haven to escape the unwanted spotlight Woods' celebrity status brings. "As its name implies, 'Privacy' was intended to be a private respite for our family to relax and escape the rigors of my husband's celebrity." After a November 8, 2004 hearing, Chief Judge Howard J. Zloch entered a consent preliminary injunction prohibiting Christensen from improperly using Woods' name and photographs of the yacht to promote and advertise the company. On December 8, 2004, Christensen filed a motion asking the Court to dissolve the preliminary injunction and dismiss the case under a "forum selection clause" in the yacht contract opting for Washington State Court to resolve certain disputes. His lawyers stated that Woods was not a party to the yacht contract and, therefore, not bound by the "forum selection clause." On September 23, 2005, after extensive briefing on the issues, Judge Zloch denied Christensen's request and held that "the result of enforcement of the forum selection clause would be parallel proceedings in different forums on the same set of facts and legal issues" and that requiring Woods to sue in Washington, while a case brought by his wife would proceed in Florida, would be unreasonable. The out of court settlement was agreed on APril 24, 2006. St. Paul is asking the judge to rule that either the settlement should be paid entirely by Christensen, or that insurer’s contribution should be limited to a stated $1 million limit per incident. Neither of the attorneys involved, J. Douglas Baldridge for the Woods and Leslie Lott for Christensens, has yet been available for comment. |
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