It should not be forgotten that in the framework of the debt of ILS 2.3 million, one of the most prominent components is the attorney's fees of the applicants' attorneys (both the arbitrator's fees, approximately ILS 190,000 plus VAT, the attorney's fees for appearing before the arbitrator approximately ILS 360,000 plus VAT, and the attorney's fees awarded by the court in the process of approving the arbitrator's award in the amount of approximately ILS 130,000 plus VAT). Therefore, these sums must be paid first, and only after that, will it be the turn of the sums awarded by the arbitrator, most of which, according to the arbitrator's award, are paid by the respondent to the applicants' counsel, who will hold them as trustees, with the funds being used by the football team (see: the summary of the matter in paragraph 10(d) onwards above).
If, indeed, the soccer team is dear to the respondent's heart, and he said so and again before me, he should know that the longer the receivership lasts, the farther away it will be for the money taken out of his pocket to reach the soccer team, since, prior to that, the funds would constitute the repayment of attorney's fees, as explained above.
Comments and Supplements in Response to Documents Submitted After the Hearings Before Me
- During the months that have elapsed, since the conclusion of the hearing of the witnesses on January 14, 2008, and since the end of the submission of the written summaries that were determined at the end of the said hearing (summaries submitted in January and February 2008), and until the issuance of this decision, the parties have considered themselves free to submit additional documents to the court, in effect, without obtaining permission to do so, prior to the submission of the documents.
- According to Damat, these documents did not have the power to change the outcome, and they only caused a burden, both on the court secretariat and on me, since every time any document was submitted, all the files were brought before me, without any benefit to advancing the case.
- Nevertheless, I will briefly address the claims raised in these documents.
- Adv. Shiloh's argument, as expressed in the document he submitted on February 10, 2008, according to which an appeals proceeding is pending before the Supreme Court, due to theRequest for Leave to Appeal submitted by him, goes on to say that since the results of the appeal are unknown, those who act according to a judgment that is not final are acting on their own summary.
In this regard, I have no choice but to refer to the decision of Justice Grunis in the Fisher, which explicitly states that a receiver can be appointed, after a judgment, even when the case is pending an appeal (see: the passage quoted in paragraph 74 above).
- As to Adv. Shiloh's additional argument that these are intertwined and parallel charges, which also appears in the aforementioned document (paragraph 3), I will note that the respondent did not file any claim and did not request any relief from the arbitrator. In any event, there is no order or relief in the arbitrator's award (and consequently, there is also no court ruling) that is addressed to the applicants, which acquits the respondent.
Adv. Shiloh's argument that his client owns half of the team is undeniable, and Applicant 2, Mr. Yosef Sassi, reiterated in his cross-examination, which was conducted on January 14, 2008, the Respondent's right to half of the soccer team. Applicant 2 said this twice; See: Recorded Transcript, p. 32, lines 10-15; p. 42, lines 11-12.
- With regard to the bankruptcy proceedings initiated by the Applicants - in a document they submitted on February 28, 2008, they note that a decision has not yet been made on the bankruptcy application, and that "A bankruptcy proceeding against a debtor is a lengthy proceeding, which may become redundant after the decision of the honorable court on the applicants' request to appoint a receiver." (Section 7 of the document). In addition, it was stated in the same document that the receiver is only for the respondent's share in the soccer team and three fields he owns, while the bankruptcy proceeding will continue and include all the other assets owned by the respondent (paragraph 8 of the document).
I am sorry, but these words are inaccurate, and contradict the wording of the application inMiscellaneous Applications Civil 7150/07, in which it is requested at the end of section 37, as follows: "To appoint Adv. Yitzhak Mina, as receiver over all of the debtor's assets for a period of one year" (emphasis added by me).