Al Gore Sues Al Jazeera America

Former Vice President Al Gore has filed a breach of contract suit against Al Jazeera America, alleging that the network is withholding $65M owed from the sale of Current TV. Note the name of Gore’s attorney.

“Al Jazeera America wants to give itself a discount on the purchase price that was agreed to nearly two years ago,” Gore’s lawyer David Boies said in a statement. “We are asking the court to order Al-Jazeera America to stop wrongfully withholding the escrow funds that belong to Current’s former shareholders.” Boies said the full complaint was sealed at the request of Al Jazeera but that Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt believe it should be made public. In the case summary from court documents, Gore and Hyatt allege fraud and breach of contract. “Rather than return the $65 million remaining in the escrow, as it was obligated to do, defendant, on June 27, 2014, submitted five claim certificates through which it attempts to manufacture several ways to retain all of the escrow balance for itself in express violation of the merger agreement,” said the summary.

Boies also represented Gore in 2000’s Bush V Gore, which gave us Dubya’s first term. The winning attorney in that case, of course, was Ted Olson.