Judge Denies San Diego’s Request

The City of San Diego has been denied permission to intervene in the court fight over where, when and how the next America’s Cup yacht race will be held.

The city had asked to become a party to the suit so it could appeal a ruling that directed the San Diego Yacht Club to accept an unusual challenge by a New Zealand group, the Mercury Bay Boating Club.

New York Supreme Court Justice Carmen Ciparick, who issued the original ruling in November, said Tuesday that she wouldn’t let San Diego intervene because it had no legal interest in the suit, especially since the two yacht clubs appear to have accepted her decision.

The city sought the right to appeal Ciparick’s ruling that Mercury Bay’s challenge for a one-on-one match in 90-foot boats this year is valid under the Cup’s 100-year-old Deed of Gift. The deed is the trust document that establishes the competition and its rules.

San Diego wants to continue the rules that have been in force since 1958, when it was decided that the competition would be held every four years in 12-meter yachts. The final race takes place between the two fastest boats remaining after a series of elimination matches.