Comments on: Aroldis Chapman's old agents sue his new ones

By: Craig Calcaterra

Craig Calcaterra — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:30:23 +0000

TCM: Sorry, I was being cute. Basically, if the new agents committed fraud or bribed him or did something that was independently wrong which in turn caused Chapman to break his agreement with the old agents, it’s legally actionable. Say, lied about the old agents, told Chapman that they were going to rip him off or something. It’s a hard claim to make, generally speaking, but in professional settings like this they tend to lead to settlements because no agent (or lawyer or whoever) wants the details of his client relationships exposed in discovery.
MHFESQ: You’re technically right, but I think that any agent that sued his own client, former or otherwise, wouldn’t be in the agent business for long. Players would steer clear. Other agents would say “son, you can sign with who you want, but just so you know, Agent X sued his own amateur client last year . . .”

By: MHFESQ

MHFESQ — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:06:33 +0000

Craig-
having experience in tortious interference claims and knowing how difficult they are, would the old agents have a better chance at suing Chapman? I know we attorneys are protected by attorney lien rights. Do agents have any similar protections?

By: The Common Man

The Common Man — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:58:37 +0000

After reading your explanation, Craig, I’m still confused as to what might constitute the illegal stealing of a client if, as you say, players are free to switch agents. Can you give a more complete explanation or example? I think your “lies and shiny things” explanation was either too dumbed down or not dumbed down enough for me.