L-A Jury Awards SportsUSA $2M

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP has secured a significant trial victory on behalf of Sports USA, the nation’s largest independent syndicator of live play-by-play on radio.

Manatt’s Robert Platt, a senior litigation partner, represented Sports USA in the Los Angeles Superior Court, where a jury ruled unanimously in favor of Sports USA in its multiyear breach of contract litigation against Sun Broadcasting Group. The jury awarded Sports USA damages in excess of $2 million – the full amount requested – as compensation for Sun’s breach of its advertising representation agreement with Sports USA.

“Sports USA is absolutely thrilled with today’s outcome,” said Platt. “Despite numerous, non-meritorious countersuits and claims, our client would not be deterred in seeking the recovery of amounts that it was rightfully owed. After fighting tirelessly on behalf of Sports USA for two years, we are happy that the jury arrived at this just conclusion.”

Larry Kahn

Larry Kahn, the CEO of Sports USA, reacted after the jury verdict, “Jason Bailey, the CEO of Sun, thought he could breach the contract by filing claims against us which had no factual or legal basis, but under no circumstance would we back down and drop our valid claims.” Kahn added that, “The jury’s decision completely affirms what we have said since day one, that Sun breached the agreement and had no valid justification for doing so.”

In September 2015, Sports USA and Sun signed an advertising representation agreement under which Sun agreed to serve as Sports USA’s exclusive sales representative for the 2016 and 2017 college football seasons. In January 2017, when Sun could not fulfill its financial obligations to Sports USA under the contract, Sun attempted to terminate the agreement.

On behalf of Sports USA, Manatt filed suit against Sun for breaching the agreement. In response, Sun filed suit against Sports USA, making a number of claims, including that it was fraudulently induced into signing the agreement. In addition to the jury’s significant award of more than $2 million to Sports USA, it also unanimously rejected each of Sun’s claims against Sports USA.

Sun Broadcast Group CEO Jason Bailey stated he was saddened by the verdict.

“Despite establishing wrongdoing by Sports USA from even before the inception of the agreement between the parties, the jury granted judgment in favor of Sports USA. The jury reached that verdict without the benefit of being able to consider key evidence of Sports USA’s wrongdoing. Sun was barred from introducing that evidence at trial on hearsay grounds. This verdict involves the old Sun, which has not traded since late 2018. It does not involve the current SBG, owned and operated by Gen Media Partners.”