To the Board of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society – Without prejudice

I was lucky enough to be in The Hague when the IJC handed down their historic verdict over Japanese whaling.  Just prior to entering the courtroom however, Alex Corneilson, under instruction from Sea Shepherd, handed me a letter, demanding I pay you $100,000 for alleged breaches of confidentiality.  It also stipulates that if I fail to pay this within 11 days, that SSCS will file in the federal court and sue me for the $100,000 plus legal and court costs.

I’d like to clarify several things.  Firstly, in my post where you allege I breached confidentiality, I mentioned the award from the Arbitrator, which is not covered by our settlement agreement.  Confidentiality applies to details of the settlement between us, not what the Arbitrator awarded. Therefore I am not in breach of the settlement agreement.

Secondly, prior to this, SSCS had already breached the agreement because court documents submitted by your lawyer gave specific details on the settlement.  So amazingly, your lawyer who prepared the letter to me alleging my breach of confidentiality is in fact the one who has breached the agreement.  So I am wondering, should I instead sue you for $100,000?

Frankly I have had enough of this nonsense.  I have turned the other cheek while Watson continued his whining and whinging about me. Yet as soon as I post the facts of what actually happened over the sinking of the Ady Gil, you and presumably Watson decide to sue me with a case devoid of legal merit.

As board members, you are expected to provide SSCS with sound professional advice, guidance and oversight.  In short you should make solid business decisions that align within the area of marine conservation.  The continued vendetta against me is far from this.  If you really want a fight with me then you will get one, but I’d suggest you have other things more worthy of your (and my) time.  Please just concentrate on your mission, rather than chasing after me with ill-advised court action and personal attacks that just reflect poorly on all of us.

Regards

Pete Bethune