McDermott got involved with a different sort of rights battle when it took the case of African Diaspora Maritime Corp. and ultimately helped to win the reversal of a New York court’s decision to dismiss a breach of contract claim against Golden Gate Yacht Club, the current trustee of the America’s Cup.
ADM, which helps train young African-Americans as competitive racing sailors, alleged the club had unfairly rejected the group’s application to compete as a defender candidate against Oracle Team USA in the lead-up to the 34th America’s Cup in 2013.
ADM said the club had falsely asserted that the group had lied about recruiting a leading yacht designer to design its ship and that it didn't have the resources to compete in the race, even though teams normally seek funding after their applications are accepted.
Partner Andrew B. Kratenstein, who handled McDermott's appeal of the dismissal of the complaint, said the case offered a unique opportunity, as America’s Cup litigation tends to focus on battles among the billionaires typically involved in the sport.
“This is the only America’s Cup case I know of where you had a nonprofit group trying to break into the America’s Cup, suing essentially for that opportunity,” Kratenstein said.
”It’s a great pro bono case because it’s very different from the cases we usually do,” said associate Audrey Lu, who worked on the case from the beginning of the firm’s involvement.
The Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Department, revived the case, ruling that the protocol governing the conduct of the races was a valid contract offer ADM had accepted by submitting its application and fee and that Golden Gate was required to exercise good faith in exercising its discretion to accept or reject the application.
ADM settled the case in July but lost its opportunity to vie for a spot in the 2013 races. Having its challenge accepted by the yacht club would’ve given the group a “golden ticket” to take to potential donors, Kratenstein said.
“It was a potentially barrier-breaking thing,” Kratenstein said. “These kinds of things generate a lot of support from people who want to see different groups who haven’t been historically represented in that particular sport get a chance.”
ADM seeks to open up sailing to more participants, Kratenstein said, noting that few Americans actually compete on America’s Cup boats.
“When we talk about diversity, we’re not just talking about racial diversity, it includes diversity in terms of means,” Kratenstein said.