Author: Steven Schwartz
Date: 10:45:26 10/18/00
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On October 18, 2000 at 13:01:33, Fernando Villegas wrote: >On October 18, 2000 at 08:14:59, José Antônio Fabiano Mendes wrote: > >> http://chesscafe.com/alburt/leval.htm > > >I wonder if Steven Schrwatz has so many pretty things to say about this guy. >Fernando Sid was a great businessman, and I understand he was quite religious, and I really like his son, Shane, who now runs Excalibur, but it is hard to love a man who sued my company for 1.5 million dollars when it appears to me that the reason for the suit was based upon his desire to destroy ICD/Your Move in favor of having a better relationship with the U.S. Chess Federation. We received notification of the lawsuit in 1985 and the trial took place in 1991. There was almost 6 years of preparation and my attorneys were paid over $700,000 in fees by my insurance company (we were covered under the trademark infringement clause). The trial lasted 3 weeks. The jury was out for less than 45 minutes. When they returned and walked into the courtroom, one of the jurors looked over at me and gave me a "thumbs up" sign. They saw right through what Fidelity was trying to do. We were, of course, exonerated. My attornies told me all along that Fidelity had no case, and they refused to settle with them no matter what the offer. This is quite rare because in a jury trial, one can never tell what the outcome will be with complete certainty. My attornies knew the facts, and felt very confident that they could make them clear to the jury. Fidelity is no more (as has not been for about 8 years) and we are doing just fine, and I look back upon the incident as a great life experience. How many times does one get to participate in his own trial? It even gave my older parents something to do, for they came to watch the proceedings every day and gave them plenty to talk about. I harbor no ill will toward Sid, and I hope that he rests in peace. What he did to my company was a business decision not a personal one. Steve (ICD/Your Move Chess & Games)
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