The Williams sisters did not breach a 2001 contract for an
unplayed tennis tournament because the promise to play was a letter
signed by their father and not the tennis stars, their lawyer said
at the close of a trial?in?West Palm Beach,
Florida?Wednesday.
"There is no contract which my clients entered into," Malcolm
Cunningham told a jury of eight at the close of a
nine-million-dollar lawsuit brought by two promoters for breach of
contract. The first trial was annulled a year ago.
The jury withdrew and was expected to arrive at a verdict as
soon as Thursday.
At the heart of the lawsuit is a written promise their father,
Richard Williams, signed for the appearance of his daughters Venus
and Serena in a 2001 tournament, billed as the battle of the sexes.
The event never took place and the plaintiffs say the Williams
sisters reneged on their promise.
Cunningham maintained that what the promoters's lawyers called a
"valid and binding contract" was simply a letter of introduction to
the private company that handles the sisters' business.
The so-called contract, the lawyer told the jury, "was signed by
Richard Williams, not Venus Williams, not Serena Williams ... this
letter is not a contract."
He went on to say that the Williams sisters signed their own
contracts and that neither was aware of what their father had
done.
"There's simply no evidence here that Venus and Serena Williams
did something wrong here. They simply did not know," Cunningham
said.
A lawyer for the promoters, who claim they lost nine million
dollars by cancelling the tournament, maintained the tennis stars'
father was involved with all aspects of his daughters' careers.
Richard Williams negotiated their contracts and signed documents
in their names, said John Romano who showed the jury a video in
which Williams said his daughters were aware of all his business
deals.
Romano also showed tax returns filed by Williams showing he was
paid two million dollars by his daughters for his training and
administrative services.
"An income tax return didn't authorize Richard Williams" to make
deals on behalf of his daughters, replied Cunningham.
(China Daily December 22, 2006)