In light of all of the above, it was decided that the independent committee should be allowed to make a decision regarding the possibility of conducting proceedings against the respondents or any of them, in accordance with the Sol report. The members of the committee were appointed to be Judge B. Alsheikh (whose appointment the Applicant did not dispute), Adv. Taubman (who was appointed to the Committee by the Court in accordance with the Association's recommendation and despite the Applicant's objection), and Applicant 1 himself. The committee was given unlimited powers in relation to determining the possibilities of the association to act in the next stages.
Subsequently, Applicant 1 filed a motion for reconsideration, in which he petitioned that the court order the appointment of another member of the committee in place of Adv. Taubman. The request was rejected in a decision of May 2, 2019.
The Committee's Work and Conclusions
- The committee held discussions and ultimately submitted a report detailing its conclusions (hereinafter: "The Committee's Report"). The report included a majority position by Justice Alsheikh and Adv. Taubman, and a minority position by Adv. Meiri.
According to the majority opinion, the damage caused to the association as a result of the affair is NIS 14,759,800, and the majority was of the opinion that it would be possible to collect a total of NIS 12,531,000 (according to the weighted assessment, both a collection that has already been carried out and a collection that the committee estimated would be carried out in the future). Therefore, the rate of damage will be the difference – i.e., the sum of NIS 2,228,800. In light of this, the majority opinion estimated that if a claim in the amount of approximately NIS 5 million (including linkage and interest differences) is filed by the Association against respondents 2-4, the chances of such a claim being accepted are high.
Notwithstanding the aforesaid, the majority approach was that the association should refrain from filing such a lawsuit. This is because the funds were not transferred to the private pockets of the officers (but to the teams themselves), and in view of the special nature of the damage, its scope, the Association's efforts to improve it, and the many inputs that will be required as a result of filing a lawsuit.