March 17th 2023 UPDATE!
What’s happening? Latest Update on the Prodigy vs Buhr Case!
Prodigy Disc has withdrawn its request for a restraining order, preliminary injunction, and a hearing against Gannon Buhr in Georgia’s District Court, cooling the legal fracas between the manufacturer and one of its marquee sponsored players.
In a filing yesterday, Prodigy wrote, “Based on a temporary understanding between Plaintiff [Prodigy Disc, Inc.] and Defendant [G.B., a Minor, by and through Michelle Nesheim, his Legal Guardian] to maintain the status quo between them, Plaintiff hereby withdraws, without prejudice, its motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction, and a Hearing. Plaintiff reserves the right to refile its motion should it become necessary and reserves all rights and claims relating to or arising out of the conduct at issue in its motion.”
Full article & the latest update can be found here on Ultiworld Disc Golf.
Prodigy Disc filed a lawsuit against Gannon Buhr
In a stunning development in professional disc golf, Prodigy Disc (PDI) has filed a lawsuit in US District Court against Gannon Buhr for attempting an early termination of his endorsement contract with Prodigy. The Georgia-based manufacturer’s lawsuit seeks to bar Buhr from working with or promoting a competitor, require Buhr to fulfill his Prodigy contract through the end of 2023, and also asks for Buhr to pay monetary damages to Prodigy.
Prodigy’s decision to sue one of their top-performing and best athletes is unprecedented in the disc golf industry!
Full article can be found here on Ultiworld Disc Golf.
Alleged details timeline
- NOV 2022: Gannon Buhr and Michelle Nesheim (mother) requested a release from Prodigy.
- JAN 13: Buhr invoked a 30-day clock on contract termination due to undelivered promises.
- No Rookie of the Year commemorative discs;
- No sales reports to verify disc royalties;
- No signature disc selection;
- Poor disc quality, inconsistency, and flashing;
- Unpaid bonuses ($500).
- In response, Prodigy paid the $500, sent sales reports, and attempted to renegotiate with a quadrupled compensation package.
- FEB 13: Buhr announced his departure from Team Prodigy.
- FEB 15: With All-Stars in 2 days, Prodigy filed a lawsuit for breach of contract against Buhr and his mother.
- FEB 16: 1st court hearing was held and a follow-up is scheduled for MAR 3rd.
- Prodigy wants to force Buhr to comply with his current contract, not sign with another sponsor, OR pay fair damages and walk (a sponsor could front the bill);
- Without him, they estimate a $1.5M sales loss and irreparable brand damage.
- MAR 16: Prodigy Drops Request for Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction Against Gannon Buhr
Once the news dropped, the DG world went wild. The memes streamed in, and Drew Gibson tweeted that this happened before… Allegedly, Prodigy failed at suing Chris Dickerson when he switched to Discraft.
Bottom line: Buhr has confirmed that he’ll continue to wear and throw only 5 Prodigy discs at Vegas. This could get ugly for both sides but many speculate the parties will eventually settle out of court.
Either way, Prodigy is trying to set a precedent but seems to have already lost in the people’s court.
Text source – The Players Meeting – https://theplayersmeeting.beehiiv.com/p/gang-sues-17yearold
The Alleged Contract Breaches
The dispute appears to have escalated after a January 13th email from Buhr to Prodigy management. In that email, Buhr alleged five items that he said constituted a material breach of the endorsement contract:
- Buhr didn’t receive a PDGA Rookie of the Year commemorative disc, despite promises that he would get one.
- Buhr did not receive regular sales reports to verify royalty payments on disc sales. “My Mom and I were told that we could see those at any time, but they had never been sent to us, even though Prodigy knew that was very important for us to have,” he wrote.
- Buhr did not get to select which signature disc he would receive, and that he was promised two but only received one, which has negatively impacted his potential earnings.
- Prodigy’s disc quality is poor and the molds are inconsistent and that he made such complaints known as far back as June 2021, with “flashing” being a particular quality control concern.
- That he was owed $500 in unpaid bonuses.
Info source – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/02/19/prodigy-sues-gannon-buhr-for-breach-of-contract/
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Correspondence between Gannon/lawyers and Prodigy/lawyers
Too long; didn’t read:
- Gannon didn’t get a Rookie of the Year disc that was agreed in his contract, Luke Humphries got 2, Isaac Robinson got 1;
- Gannon never got sales reports to verify they were paying him for discs sold;
- Gannon didn’t get to choose even 1 signature disc when promised 2;
- Gannon claims they changed the mold on his signature disc to the point he can’t putt with it;
- Prodigy’s lawyers claim otherwise;
- Gannon’s lawyers provide receipts.
TL;DR source – https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/116ywrd/correspondence_between_gannonlawyers_and/
Info source – https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66818250/prodigy-disc-inc-v-gb/
pdga_rodman’s meme that “destroyed” Prodigy
Prodigy’s court filings include copies of social media posts, including those from Reddit and memes from Instagram; Anderson wrote in his declaration that one post particularly “troubling and worrisome to me is a ‘meme’ of PDI’s logo on a tombstone with G.B.’s smiling face photoshopped on a body standing over the gravesite, indicating G.B.’s departure would essentially destroy PDI’s business.”
Text source – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/02/19/prodigy-sues-gannon-buhr-for-breach-of-contract/
Useful videos to watch to dive deeper into the lawsuit:
Disc Golf dot Law – Prodigy Suing Gannon Buhr – Legal Analysis
The Nick & Matt Show – Law Expert talks to us about Prodigy Disc suing Gannon Buhr
Prodigy is Suing Gannon Buhr? | Grip Locked podcast
Disc Golf Community Responds with an Avalanche of Memes
Memes and images mostly from Reddit /r/discgolf & Facebook Disc Golf Humor groups and Twitter tweets.
OP source – https://www.reddit.com/r/discgolf/comments/118gwqf/the_downfall_of_prodigy/
Prodigy stepping on their own toes?
Addition to Prodigy suing Gannon Buhr, Prodigy’s CEO Mark Anderson said this in their case: “Gannon Buhr’s departure would also leave Prodigy Disc Incorporated without a high-profile PDGA athlete under contract for the quickly-approaching 2023 season.”
Throwing A LOT of shade to their current Core Team members such as Kevin Jones, Alden Harris and Cale Leiviska.
Sources:
Ultiworld Disc Golf article “Prodigy sues Gannon Buhr for Breach of Contract” – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/02/19/prodigy-sues-gannon-buhr-for-breach-of-contract/
pdga_rodman memes – https://www.instagram.com/pdga_rodman/
chuckdiscs memes – https://www.instagram.com/chuckdiscs/
circlefivediscgolf memes – https://www.instagram.com/circlefivediscgolf/
Dilligaf disc golf memes – https://www.facebook.com/discgolfforfun
Court Listener lawsuit “Prodigy Disc, Inc. v. G.B. (1:23-cv-00701)” – https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66818250/prodigy-disc-inc-v-gb/
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What’s next?
Ultiworld Disc Golf:
The District Court judge assigned to the case, Steve C. Jones, declined to issue an immediate ruling on the request for a temporary restraining order. Instead, there will be a follow-up hearing in two weeks. Legal experts told Ultiworld Disc Golf that not getting an immediate ruling is typically is a sign that a request for a temporary restraining order won’t be granted, but a preliminary injunction, which would also bar Buhr from signing an endorsement contract with another manufacturer until the outcome of the trial is decided, is still possible.
Buhr could, in theory, announce a new contract before the courts rule, but he could face further liability if Prodigy prevails in court. With the filings now public, the pending legal and reputational issues would also likely become a topic of discussion with any competitor looking to work with Buhr.
Further complicating matters is that Buhr executed his contract with Prodigy as a minor and that Buhr remains a minor; Buhr’s mother co-signed the agreement. The enforceability of a contract with a minor may become a legal issue in the proceedings.
Prodigy’s decision to sue one of its athletes is unprecedented in the disc golf industry — although a number of players have left endorsement contracts early in recent years, including Ricky Wysocki departing Innova for Dynamic Discs in 2021 and Simon Lizotte leaving Discmania for MVP this offseason, any contractual disputes have been handled internally. Prodigy and Buhr could still agree to a settlement outside of court.
Buhr will start his 2023 professional disc golf season at the Las Vegas Challenge on Thursday, February 23rd.
Source – https://discgolf.ultiworld.com/2023/02/19/prodigy-sues-gannon-buhr-for-breach-of-contract/
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