League Two side Coventry City, Premiership Rugby side Wasps and the Coventry City Council were ordered to "take part in mediation over the long-running Ricoh Arena legal battle," according to Simon Gilbert of the COVENTRY TELEGRAPH. A Court of Appeal judge instructed the parties to "take part in peace talks during a hearing" at the Royal Courts of Justice building in London. At a hearing attended by Coventry City Owner Sisu CEO Joy Seppala, Judge Irwin warned there were "reputational consequences" to consider "for all parties." The hearing was held as Coventry City Council and the football club "went head to head" over the Dec. '14 sale of the Ricoh Arena to Wasps. Lawyers for companies that make up the club argued the extension of the stadium lease to 250 years means the £21M deal was actually undervalued by about £29M. It also "emerged that the football club was no longer seeking damages" from Wasps through this process for completing a deal that, the clubs lawyers argue, was "never offered to them and squeezed them out." However, club lawyer Rhodri Thompson told the court his client "could seek damages through a civil claim in the future." Judge Irwin said, "There is a long-standing relationship between the parties, there needs to be working relationships in the future, it seems to me desirable that all parties go into mediation seeking to resolve all of those disputes relating to those relationships. ... By the end of the mediation process, if it is successful, all parties should be able to walk away with all issues resolved. This is a case crying out for an honest attempt at mediation" (COVENTRY TELEGRAPH, 11/29).
