Lawyer rejects out of court settlement with the Social Democrats

Lawyer Zden"k Altner who is suing the Social Democrats for nearly 19 billion crowns or roughly 890 million dollars, has said he will not conclude an out-of-court settlement with the party. Altner told journalists at a press conference on Friday that he was not convinced that the offer of a settlement from Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek was a serious one. He says he now intends to proceed with his petition to the courts to have the Social Democrats declared bankrupt. Altner claims he is owed 93 million crowns or 4.3 million US dollars from the Social Democrats for services he gave them in a legal dispute over the ownership of the party's headquarters in the 1990s and that this has now risen to 19 billion crowns due to fines and late-payment penalties. The Social Democrat leadership says Altner's claims are exaggerated and unsubstantiated and would not stand up in court.

Author: Coilin O'Connor