BarbaraPatterson
07-25-2006, 10:51 AM
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=298220&Category=17&fromSearch=yes&subCategoryID=0
Sunday, July 23, 2006 SUNDAY SPECIAL BY TODD PORTER
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As lawsuits go, American Indoor Football League President Andrew Haines doesn’t seemed too concerned about a recent $435,000 judgment against the league. Is that just a care-free attitude, or does Haines have legitimate reasoning behind him?
Former Asheville, N.C. owner Robert Boyd sued the AIFL after his team folded. The AIFL never answered allegations in the suit, and a default judgment was awarded to Boyd. Haines said the suit was filed at a busy time.
“We’re in the process of filing an appeal,” Haines said.
There is a problem with that.
Default judgments can’t be appealed. The AIFL must first get the judgment vacated, and to do so, it has to prove there were convincing reasons why the league never appeared in Pennsylvania court. There is plenty of room for legal wrangling in our system, but based on some of the reasons Haines gave, getting the judgment vacated won’t be easy.
“Our attorney (Seth Arkow) doesn’t seem too concerned,” Haines said. “I let him handle the legal issues. The bottom line is he’s very confident it will get dismissed.”
Haines said the league hired a Pennsylvania attorney, because Arkow is not licensed to practice there. Haines also said the Pennsylvania attorney was on vacation when the suit was filed. The AIFL had 30 days to answer the lawsuit. A message left for Arkow wasn’t returned.
A settlement could be reached, but Boyd is bargaining from a position of power. There is a $435,000 judgment on his side.
“We could come to some settlement just to make it go away,” Haines said. “We offered the guy $50,000 to buy his team back and save it. He wouldn’t do it. There is only so much we’re willing do.”
According to the suit, Boyd’s original investment was $37,000 in cash. The judgment for $435,000 is treble damages, meaning it was for $145,000, and the court tripled it.
“(Boyd) can point the finger all he wants at the league,” Haines said. “But the league wasn’t working day-to-day for the team and making daily decisions. One of the big issues is an allegation that the general manager embezzled money. We did hire the guy, but whenever a new owner comes in, he interviews or meets with the employees. I know they talked and met, but at some point, you have to take some responsibility as an owner.”
The judgment will hamper Haines’ ability to sell the league. He had an agreement in place with Greens Worldwide, a publicly traded sports marketing firm, to sell the AIFL for $1.1 million. It was $1 million in stock and $100,000 in cash. Greens issued a press release that stated the AIFL’s lack of documentation regarding Boyd’s lawsuit was the reason it pulled the plug.
Haines said that wasn’t the case. Greens wanted to turn over the AIFL staff.
“I told them I couldn’t sell it and have our employees lose their jobs,” Haines said. “My mom works for the league. It’s not fair to our employees for me to make a quick buck.”
NEW INVESTORS?
Haines said the AIFL would be in a position to announce two new investors. He declined to name them.
“That’s another reason I didn’t sell to Greens,” Haines said. “The lawsuit doesn’t mean much. It could potentially restrict me from selling the league, but with some of the things in the works now, we don’t want to sell.”
LEGENDS FILM COMMERCIAL
Several members of the AIFL champion Canton Legends filmed a McDonald’s commercial earlier this month. Players can be seen in an upcoming commercial featuring Cleveland Browns’ center LeCharles Bentley that was filmed at Westlake High School. The commercials will air all over Ohio.
Legends players who can be seen in both the commercial are Thomas Matthews, Harlen Jacobs, Larry Kinnard, Rashan Hall, Eddie Robinson and Tim Smith.
SOUTHERN AIFL LEAVING?
We’re told to expect an announcement soon about most of the teams in the AIFL’s Southern Conference leaving.
“There are a few teams if they don’t make good with the league we’re going to suspend operations for a year,” Haines said. “It’s hard to keep 16 teams happy when you’re dealing with people with these kinds of egos. We don’t want to lose any teams, but we recognize it happens in every business.”
Sunday, July 23, 2006 SUNDAY SPECIAL BY TODD PORTER
Advertisement
As lawsuits go, American Indoor Football League President Andrew Haines doesn’t seemed too concerned about a recent $435,000 judgment against the league. Is that just a care-free attitude, or does Haines have legitimate reasoning behind him?
Former Asheville, N.C. owner Robert Boyd sued the AIFL after his team folded. The AIFL never answered allegations in the suit, and a default judgment was awarded to Boyd. Haines said the suit was filed at a busy time.
“We’re in the process of filing an appeal,” Haines said.
There is a problem with that.
Default judgments can’t be appealed. The AIFL must first get the judgment vacated, and to do so, it has to prove there were convincing reasons why the league never appeared in Pennsylvania court. There is plenty of room for legal wrangling in our system, but based on some of the reasons Haines gave, getting the judgment vacated won’t be easy.
“Our attorney (Seth Arkow) doesn’t seem too concerned,” Haines said. “I let him handle the legal issues. The bottom line is he’s very confident it will get dismissed.”
Haines said the league hired a Pennsylvania attorney, because Arkow is not licensed to practice there. Haines also said the Pennsylvania attorney was on vacation when the suit was filed. The AIFL had 30 days to answer the lawsuit. A message left for Arkow wasn’t returned.
A settlement could be reached, but Boyd is bargaining from a position of power. There is a $435,000 judgment on his side.
“We could come to some settlement just to make it go away,” Haines said. “We offered the guy $50,000 to buy his team back and save it. He wouldn’t do it. There is only so much we’re willing do.”
According to the suit, Boyd’s original investment was $37,000 in cash. The judgment for $435,000 is treble damages, meaning it was for $145,000, and the court tripled it.
“(Boyd) can point the finger all he wants at the league,” Haines said. “But the league wasn’t working day-to-day for the team and making daily decisions. One of the big issues is an allegation that the general manager embezzled money. We did hire the guy, but whenever a new owner comes in, he interviews or meets with the employees. I know they talked and met, but at some point, you have to take some responsibility as an owner.”
The judgment will hamper Haines’ ability to sell the league. He had an agreement in place with Greens Worldwide, a publicly traded sports marketing firm, to sell the AIFL for $1.1 million. It was $1 million in stock and $100,000 in cash. Greens issued a press release that stated the AIFL’s lack of documentation regarding Boyd’s lawsuit was the reason it pulled the plug.
Haines said that wasn’t the case. Greens wanted to turn over the AIFL staff.
“I told them I couldn’t sell it and have our employees lose their jobs,” Haines said. “My mom works for the league. It’s not fair to our employees for me to make a quick buck.”
NEW INVESTORS?
Haines said the AIFL would be in a position to announce two new investors. He declined to name them.
“That’s another reason I didn’t sell to Greens,” Haines said. “The lawsuit doesn’t mean much. It could potentially restrict me from selling the league, but with some of the things in the works now, we don’t want to sell.”
LEGENDS FILM COMMERCIAL
Several members of the AIFL champion Canton Legends filmed a McDonald’s commercial earlier this month. Players can be seen in an upcoming commercial featuring Cleveland Browns’ center LeCharles Bentley that was filmed at Westlake High School. The commercials will air all over Ohio.
Legends players who can be seen in both the commercial are Thomas Matthews, Harlen Jacobs, Larry Kinnard, Rashan Hall, Eddie Robinson and Tim Smith.
SOUTHERN AIFL LEAVING?
We’re told to expect an announcement soon about most of the teams in the AIFL’s Southern Conference leaving.
“There are a few teams if they don’t make good with the league we’re going to suspend operations for a year,” Haines said. “It’s hard to keep 16 teams happy when you’re dealing with people with these kinds of egos. We don’t want to lose any teams, but we recognize it happens in every business.”