Bertarelli created his own team, Team Alinghi, by raiding the hot Team New Zealand in 2000. Alinghi has easily won the two most recent America's Cup races. In response, Ellison's own BMW Oracle team built the trimaran.

Now, Bertarelli wants to increase the allowed size of the boats and make the race an every-other-year event. Ellison's lawsuit, filed by the Golden Gate Yacht Club, seeks to replace the official challenger for the next race, the Spanish group Desafio Espanol, with BMW Oracle. The suit claims Desafio Espanol is an "invalid challenger" because it has not held a regatta in accordance with America's Cup regulations. Desafio Espanol claims a regatta it held in Spain does too qualify. An arbitration panel agreed with that last year.

Bertarelli says he's trying to improve the race's popular appeal. Ellison says Bertarelli is trying to manipulate the rules to hold onto the cup against the threat of Ellison's new boat. The New York Supreme Court will hear the case in October. (Photo by Getty Images/AFP/Gilles Martin-Raget)

Last July, the Golden Gate Yacht Club sued Cup defenders Société Nautique de Genève [PDF], accusing the Swiss of hand-picking an unqualified challenger, the newly formed Club Náutico Español de Vela. The Deed of Gift, which outlines the terms and rules of the race, requires that a challenging club hold an annual regatta — CNEV held a regatta, with boats crewed by children, only after being selected as challenger.

Now it's SNG's turn to accuse the GGYC of trying to tilt the field. GGYC wants the race to be held in October, giving the Alinghi team only seven months to build their boat. The BMW Oracle team, meanwhile, started building their multi-hulled vessel three months ago. SNG wants the race held in 2009, and says that the GGYC originally agreed that any race would be held ten months after the legal decision had been handed down [PDF].

We are disappointed that GGYC is backtracking on this agreement and launching a new legal campaign seeking to undo what GGYC previously agreed to. Why not simply meet us on the water and settle this there?