Al Gore has filed a lawsuit against Al Jazeera America claiming the company committed fraud by withholding part of the escrow funds that belong to them for the sale of Current TV.
Variety reports the money should have been given to the former shareholders when Al Jazeera purchased Current TV in 2013. Gore and Joel Hyatt, co-founders of Current TV, sold the network for $500 million. Gore's lawyer David Boies released a statement regarding the lawsuit to The New York Daily News.
“Al Jazeera America wants to give itself a discount on the purchase price that was agreed to nearly two years ago,” Boies said. “We are asking the court to order Al Jazeera America to stop wrongfully withholding the escrow funds that belong to Current's former shareholders.”
“We do not believe that our complaint should be sealed,” Boies continued. “However, despite being a news organization, Al Jazeera America has said that the full complaint should be kept from the public file. We have therefore filed the complaint under seal until the court can resolve this issue. We expect that the court will reject Al Jazeera America's argument.”
Gore and Hyatt are suing on the behalf of the shareholders who decided to sell Current TV, according to Variety. The lawsuit claims Al Jazeera breached of their merger agreement by withholding funds. A spokesperson for Al Jazeera released the following statement regarding the lawsuit.
“Our outside counsel is reviewing the complaint. We think it relates to a commercial dispute between former shareholders of Current Media and Al Jazeera America,” the spokesperson told
