The testimonies show that when Kotler approached the defendant in order to present the idea to her, the defendant was already aware of the possibility of taking action to reduce the lease fees. According to Attorney Rotem, he represented Fischer and his family for many years, and at the same time asked to help Fischer reduce the lease fees to the municipality. Since this is not his field of practice, he recommended that Fischer work through lawyers, who specialize in the subject. Fischer negotiated with a number of leading law firms in the field, including the Shub Law Firm and the Hartavi Law Firm (paragraphs 2-3 of Adv. Rotem's affidavit).
On September 10, 2009, the defendant received an email from the law firm of Rechnitz, Kessler & Co. describing cooperation with the law firm of Hartavi Bornstein Basson and the appraisal firm of Dessa-Paper, in relation to the representation of a group of owners of rights in the properties, in the protection of their rights vis-à-vis the Tel Aviv Municipality. The reference dealt with the possibility and feasibility of filing a lawsuit against the Tel Aviv Municipality regarding the amount of the lease fees, with the conclusionbeing that such a lawsuit has a good chance of success. The application was accompanied, inter alia, by an offer of legal fees in relation to the legal treatment and an offer to join the class, in connection with the property leased by the defendant (Fisher's affidavit, paragraph 3, Appendix 1). The defendant conducted advanced negotiations and was about to close an agreement.
Kotler learned of this matter in a conversation he had with Fischer on November 9, 2009 and was documented by him in real time: "On November 9, 2009, in a nice conversation with Danny, they said that they had already spoken to Shub + Almagor just before closing, they authorized Yitzhak to close with one of the firms, they want to close within two weeks, Adv. Yitzhak The Tax Committee in Ramat Gan knows Hartavi and appreciates them..." Kotler confirmed in his testimony that the defendant was aware of the idea "without any connection to it" (Appendix 4 to Kotler's affidavit; p. 137, lines 28-31, p. 138, lines 1-9).