America's Cup clash returns to Supreme Court

The bitter battle over the next America's Cup clash returned to the New York Supreme Court yesterday with another application from the San Francisco-based challenger BMW Oracle to have the Swiss defender Alinghi held in contempt of court.

Oracle, headed by computer software mogul Larry Ellison and skippered by three-times Kiwi winner Russell Coutts, claimed that the Swiss defender Alinghi, headed by Ernesto Bertarelli was in breach of rulings already handed down in New York and the rules of racing set up by the world's governing body, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

Oracle said Alinghi was playing fast and loose with the rules, including the use of engines to provide power to control the sails, and had entered into a secret arrangement with the ISAF, and was seeking to change the rules of the event, provisionally scheduled for February next year, without the consent of the challenger.

The hearing is set for 21 July.