Skip to content

Hombergs file Olympic counterclaim against VANOC

A 74-year-old Brackendale woman and her son have struck back at Olympic organizers in a dispute over a disputed internet address.

A 74-year-old Brackendale woman and her son have struck back at Olympic organizers in a dispute over a disputed internet address.

Ingrid and Nikolaus Homberg filed a countersuit last against the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics (VANOC), following their suit against the 74-year-old woman who once owned the internet domain name www.whistler-olympic.com.

VANOC alleges the use of the word "Olympic" in the domain name infringed official trademarks.Nikolaus, a lawyer, said he and his mother are seeking damages for economic loss, lost income and damages for threats, intimidation and harassment.

He said the counterclaim names Jack Poole, Michael Chambers, John Furlong, Sam Corea, Shannon Robertson, Bradley Freedman and Robert Dean.

Poole is VANOC chairman, Chambers is president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Furlong is the VANOC CEO while Corea, Robertson, Freedman and Deane are VANOC employees. The countersuit also names the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais, the company representing VANOC.

The move by the Hombergs comes after VANOC was granted an injunction preventing the Hombergs from selling the domain name.

The Hombergs originally owned www.whistler-olympic.com and they were using it as a marketing tool to sell a home they own in Whistler.

Lederer is now using the domain name to market mobile telephone accessories. He sells downloadable ring tones, games and photos for wireless phones.

"The lawyers for the VANOC and the Olympic Committee got an injunction against my mother and myself not to transfer the domain name but the domain name has already been sold," Homberg said. "In my opinion it is what is called a perversion of justice."

"I can't speak in any detail as there is now a countersuit against VANOC and various people, including myself," Corea said when he was contacted by The Chief.

Corea noted the B.C. Supreme Court injunction was put in place on Jan. 14.

The locals argued early in the legal dispute they were not the people VANOC needed to talk to because the domain name was sold to a man named Michael Lederer of Germany. At the time the injunction was granted, the internet site www.whois.com indicated the Hombergs owned the name but as of this week the whois database indicates Lederer owns the domain name.

At the time of the injunction hearing the Hombergs had no proof they did not own the domain name. They are now working with Lederer to prove who owns the name.

"I wrote Mr. Lederer and asked him to sign an affidavit in front of a notary in Germany," said Nikolaus.

Once the affidavit comes back signed he plans to present it to the court.

"What the Olympics committee attempted to do was expropriate property owned by Ingrid Homberg," Nikolaus Homberg told The Chief. "It was legally bought. They attempted to expropriate someone else's property and it just isn't fair."

A significant amount of money has already been invested in the court actions centred on the controversial domain name and Homberg feels the money should have been spent on Canadian athletes.

"The Olympic committee and their people should have concentrated more on funding athletes instead of lawsuits," he said.

"It really is a waste of money."

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks