Topcat Case Study

1. Tripper’s Best Claims Against Topcat.

Topcat has committed fraud and violated fiduciary duties owed to Tripper because he did not disclose that Topcat had a stake in AND1. Furthermore Topcat defrauded Tripper because he forced Tripper, while he was under duress, to sign an endorsement contract that contained highly unfavorable clauses to Tripper, and Topcat not only failed to inform Tripper that he has a right to have another lawyer review the contract, but also, he insisted that he need not sign it and promised Tripper that he can re-negotiate the “must wear” clause later. The agent must act on behalf of the athlete, as his fiduciary, “with respect to matters within the scope of his agency.” §13 Restatement (2d) of Agency; also

The breach of fiduciary duty commonly includes three elements: (1) the existence of a duty arising from a fiduciary duty; (2) a failure to observe the duty; and (3) an injury resulting proximately from the breach. Id. The fiduciary duty commenced when (a) Topcat and Tripper signed their representation contract. Topcat failed to observe the duty when he did not disclose his stake in AND1, as well as, (b) when he forced Tripper, who was just out of a grueling training session, to sign the endorsement contract with AND1, which Topcat knew contained poor “must wear” and Morals clauses. In Hernandez v. Childres, where agent received a commission for pushing his clients to invest in a tax shelter, the court found a breach of fiduciary duty because the agent failed to disclose his financial interest in the tax shelters to his clients. See RPA at 3. Similarly, in Detroit Lions and Billy Sims v. Jerry Argovitz, the court held that the agent “irreparably breached his fiduciary duty” because the agent did not disclose to the player that he became a part owner of the team; he did not seek final offer from another team and ultimately signed the player to his team. Here, Topcat has a minority stake in AND1, which means that it is in his, and

For instance, Rory Mcilroy asserted similar claims when his agent made him sign a contract during a Christmas party when Rory, while turning professional (hence, he was young and inexperienced), already had a few drinks. See Golf Digest; and BBC. Moreover, Mcilroy did not have a chance to present the contract to another lawyer to review the contract before he signed it. Similarly here, Topcat approached exhausted Tripper after a grueling training session and pressured him into signing the contract by claiming that this is (a) the “Max Money” deal; (b) that it is not be cancelled in one hour if Tripper does not sigh; (c) that he can re-negotiate the “must wear” clause later, which he obviously did not do; (d) and that he need not have a another attorney review it. Had Tripper been given an opportunity to properly review the contract with another lawyer, in absence of utter exhaustion and coercive information, he would not have signed the contract “as is” and would not have suffered the damages stated in the previous