Just under a year since revealing that he was offered "in excess of $100m by the Saudis" to be the face of LIV Golf, Jack Nicklaus is back in the news but, this time around, involving a subpoena that has been delivered to current LIV CEO, Greg Norman.
First reported by the Miami Herald, Norman, who took on the role of CEO in 2021, was issued a subpoena for documents by the Nicklaus Companies in a case in the Supreme Court of the State of New York on the 20th March.
According to the subpoena, the Nicklaus Companies, the Plaintiff, would like any and all documentation in regard to a Washington Post article on the 5th June 2022, which was titled “The Shark Is on The Attack Again.” The specific interest refers to the section of the article that notes that the LIV Golf League “had his blessing", referring to Nicklaus giving his support to the Saudi-backed series.
What's more, in the request, the subpoena asks for all documentation that Jack Nicklaus, the Nicklaus family or their agents communicated with LIV Golf, but no direct testimony. The last thing to note is that Norman must reportedly provide the requested documents no later than 20 days after service, with the date of service not currently known.
Certainly, it's been a busy time for Nicklaus and court cases. Back in May, a former business partner of Nicklaus, Howard Milstein, filed a lawsuit against the 18-time Major winner for "repeated acts in bad faith against the best interests of the Company, including acts to intentionally and maliciously undermine the company."
Since the filing of the lawsuit, a New York Supreme Court judge issued an injunction in favor of Nicklaus Companies, stating that while Nicklaus may design golf courses under his name pending a trial, neither he, nor any other entity can use the name, image, likeness and other IP assets that he sold to market or commercialize his work.
What's more, the judge also declined, at that point, to issue an injunction preventing Nicklaus from competing in actually designing courses, with a statement from the Nicklaus Companies back in December reading: "It is also important to understand that while the court declined to issue a preliminary injunction as to whether Mr. Nicklaus can compete with Nicklaus Companies in designing golf courses, this is only pending a full trial to determine whether or not he has that right."
The American has previously given his thought on the LIV Golf League and, back in March on Sir Nick Faldo's new podcast, Nicklaus stated that: “I don’t fault the guys who have gone to LIV. You have to make a choice between playing golf for a short period time, for a lot of money, to put away for your family, or you have the loyalty to play regular golf, then the senior tour and into retirement."
