The original plan was rejected by the Foundation on December 21, 2014 (Appendix H to the plaintiffs' affidavit).
- On August 20, 2015, the Bird Foundation was again submitted with a plan for the implementation of the project, which is similar to the original plan, with certain changes (hereinafter: the updated plan). Although the plaintiff did not take part in the preparation and submission of the updated plan, this plan also included the employment of the plaintiffs in future execution stages of the venture
The updated plan was approved by the Foundation on October 21, 2015 (Appendix 12 to the plaintiffs' affidavit).
- An agreement between the defendant, GSE and the Bird Foundation was signed on May 17, 2016 (Appendix 3 to the defendants' affidavit).
After the updated plan was approved, the Bird Foundation transferred the defendant a total of $253,000.
At the end of 2019, the defendant informed the Bird Foundation of its intention to freeze the project.
The parties' arguments in summary
- According to the plaintiff, he invested a great deal of effort in promoting the project and executing it, and therefore he is entitled to receive about 80% of the funds that the defendants received from the Bird Foundation as part of the project. The plaintiff noted that he had invested considerable resources in initiating the project and for the purpose of preparing the original plan, and claimed that if it were not for him, there would have been no project at all.
In general, the plaintiff stated that he was the one who worked to locate an American company that would be a partner in the project alongside the defendant, that he was the one who spent a lot of money out of his own pocket for travel purposes, and that he was the main contact person between the relevant parties. The plaintiff emphasized that he had invested many hours of his time in order to promote the project, and according to him, "for an entire year."
The plaintiff added that a simple comparison between the original plan and the updated plan approved by the fund proves that it is the exact same plan (with minor budgetary changes).