Brown v. Woolf case brief

Brown v. Woolf case brief summary
554 F.Supp. 1206 (1983)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Plaintiff, a professional hockey player, filed an action against defendant, a sports attorney and agent, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for alleged constructive fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in the negotiation of a contract for the 1974-75 hockey season. The agent filed motions for partial summary judgment and for summary judgment, which motions were before the court.

CASE FACTS

• The player engaged the professional services of the agent to negotiate a contract with a hockey team. The player alleged that he relied upon the agent's material misrepresentations and signed on with a different team, which began having financial difficulties that caused the player to suffer monetary losses. 
• The player contended that the agent's failure to investigate the financial stability of the team, failure to determine the possible consequences of deferred compensation, and failure to obtain guarantees or collateral constituted a prima facie case of constructive fraud. 
• The agent argued that the player had no basis for a punitive damages claim and that they were unavailable as a matter of law. In addition, the agent asserted that he was acting merely as an agent of the player, that his conduct did not amount to constructive fraud, that there was no evidence he deceived the player, and that there was no showing of harm to the public interest. 

DISCUSSION
In denying the agent's motions, the court held that summary judgment would not be appropriate because factual questions remained unresolved. The agent failed to demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of a material fact.


CONCLUSION
The court denied the agent's motions for partial summary judgment and for summary judgment in the player's action for breach of a fiduciary duty during the negotiation of a sports contract.



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