The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are deadlocked in a fight over information the tour wants from the fund and its governor for a trial in Saudi-backed LIV Golf’s antitrust suit against its North American rival.
(Bloomberg) — The PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are deadlocked in a fight over information the tour wants from the fund and its governor for a trial in Saudi-backed LIV Golf’s antitrust suit against its North American rival.
PIF and its chief Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan can’t agree to the “potential production” of any documents or information that would run afoul of Saudi law, their lawyers said in a court filing Tuesday. Any further discussions with the PGA would have to be limited to non-confidential documents under certain conditions, such as the preservation of the fund’s sovereign immunity and having a Saudi law expert sign off on what may be produced, they said.
PIF’s “unreasonable proposal and unwillingness to compromise have created an impasse,” PGA’s attorneys said in the filing. They pushed back at what they called the fund’s “take-it-or-leave-it approach,” claiming its proposal lacks any court enforcement and lets the fund “cherry-pick” what it wishes to disclose.
US Magistrate Judge Susan Van Keulen on Jan. 13 had asked attorneys to submit a joint status report on discussions over PGA’s request to compel the nearly $676 billion sovereign wealth fund and its chief to comply with subpoenas in PGA’s lawsuit accusing LIV of unfair competition by offering players lucrative deals to break their PGA contracts.
The fund filed a motion to quash PGA’s request, arguing it has sovereign immunity and can’t be forced to provide evidence in the acrimonious antitrust battle that has splintered the world of pro golf and set off a clash between the legacy US league and the Saudi-backed upstart.
The fight began with 11 professional golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Talor Gooch and Matt Jones, having sued the PGA Tour in August for suspending them after they joined LIV. LIV joined the suit a month later, prompting Mickelson, Gooch and six others to withdraw from the lawsuit. PGA then countersued, claiming LIV’s alleged interference with PGA players’ contracts harmed its brand and reputation.
LIV alleges the PGA is a monopolist keen on sabotaging a new rival, while the PGA claims LIV is luring players with “astronomical sums of money” — with the goal of “sportswashing” Saudi Arabia’s record of human-rights abuses.
A trial is currently scheduled to start in January of next year.
The case is Mickelson v. PGA Tour Inc., 22-cv-04486, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).
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