Did New Balance get served too?
Did New Balance get served too?
F*ck nike
Maybe they're just jealous or butthurt that they lost an athlete who's now world indoor champ.
Sorry Nike, you have like 100 other Kenyans to choose from who could randomly come out and run 1:43 - which happens literally every year almost - look at the top 2 times in the world this year; they're Kenyans who are basically unknown and are running significantly faster than they ever have before.
LetsRun.com wrote:
From Berian's twitter account: @borisgump800
"Today, I got served at the Hoka Classic, @nike is going to sue me for breach of a contract that expired on 12/31/15. What shall I do?"
https://twitter.com/borisgump800/status/733843900012449793Boris, as small business owners liker yourself, we'll say the key is not to be intimidated. We've got your back. We'll be happy to crowd-source your lawyers fees. We want all of this out in the open.
If anyone has any details on this, please email us at
letsrun@letsrun.com
Who is Boris's agent? Clearly poor advice, he may have gotten more money and decided to take the money and run. Agent gets a cut for any deal that is done. Clearly the agent here should be hot water. Can someone find out should that is and let's go after the agent.
Because we have absolutely no idea what this is about. Facts matter.
You present a compelling argument - "Yeah we don't know the details...maybe...but still." Hard to argue with that.
Devil Dog wrote:
jvjv wrote: Corporations are evil! Vote Bernie!Truth
Truth is not allowed on LR.
Lawyer wrote:
Like we say in Law School, Put your feelings away.
All we know right now is a one sided story that seems incomplete.
"Sooo guys, Nike just served me"
Sounds like he knows exactly what he did.
Let's wait for the FACTS to come out.
Corrupt Agent wrote:
Who is Boris's agent? Clearly poor advice, he may have gotten more money and decided to take the money and run. Agent gets a cut for any deal that is done. Clearly the agent here should be hot water. Can someone find out should that is and let's go after the agent.
Umm, I'm guessing you don't realize his agent is the best- Hawi Keflezighi, who's also a lawyer, although not practicing law.
Assuming this is because Boris started wearing New Balance stuff- if you start ~wearing someone else's stuff, either you can give written notice to the company you wish to terminate the contract (with a timeline in the contract of like effective after 30 days), or the company can terminate you for violating it. To "sue" after the contract has ended is a serious d*** move by Nike.
call a spade wrote:
Corrupt Agent wrote:Who is Boris's agent? Clearly poor advice, he may have gotten more money and decided to take the money and run. Agent gets a cut for any deal that is done. Clearly the agent here should be hot water. Can someone find out should that is and let's go after the agent.
Umm, I'm guessing you don't realize his agent is the best- Hawi Keflezighi, who's also a lawyer, although not practicing law.
Assuming this is because Boris started wearing New Balance stuff- if you start ~wearing someone else's stuff, either you can give written notice to the company you wish to terminate the contract (with a timeline in the contract of like effective after 30 days), or the company can terminate you for violating it. To "sue" after the contract has ended is a serious d*** move by Nike.
Hawi is sleazy and should be investigated.Nike would not do anything if the contracted had ended and it was not renewed. We are not getting the full story here. Did Hawi do the original Nike deal? My guess is not, he is paid by commission on new business.Boris is not savy to the world of shoe contracts.
I think we may be surprised when the truth comes out.
Corrupt Agent wrote:
Hawi is sleazy and should be investigated.Nike would not do anything if the contracted had ended and it was not renewed. We are not getting the full story here. Did Hawi do the original Nike deal? My guess is not, he is paid by commission on new business.Boris is not savy to the world of shoe contracts.
I think we may be surprised when the truth comes out.
As others have stated here. We don't know any of the facts. There are two sides to every story.
But the words 'sleazy' and 'Hawi' are polar opposites in my mind. From my experience, they don't belong in the same sentence.
My guess when the facts come out: turns out Nike is legally correct, but Boris is who everyone will side with. 2 weeks later, everyone forgets about Boris and buys another pair of Nike Frees.
I won't buy Nike Frees! I won't buy Nike anything and haven't in years. They're inferior to both Adidas and Asics anyhow, easy to avoid.
wineturtle wrote:
Did New Balance get served too?
Athletes have agreements with sponsors. Sponsors don't have agreements with other sponsors. With no agreement, Nike couldn't sue New Balance for anything. The agreement was apparently between Nike and Berian.
Les wrote:
wineturtle wrote:Did New Balance get served too?
Athletes have agreements with sponsors. Sponsors don't have agreements with other sponsors. With no agreement, Nike couldn't sue New Balance for anything. The agreement was apparently between Nike and Berian.
That's wrong bud
California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI)
2201. Intentional Interference With Contractual Relations
[Name of plaintiff] claims that [name of defendant] intentionally interfered with the contract between [him/her/it] and [name of third party]. To establish this claim, [name of plaintiff] must prove all of the following:
1. That there was a contract between [name of plaintiff] and [name of third party];
2. That [name of defendant] knew of the contract;
3. That [name of defendant] intended to disrupt the performance of this contract;
4. That [name of defendant]’s conduct prevented performance or made performance more expensive or difficult;
5. That [name of plaintiff] was harmed; and
6. That [name of defendant]’s conduct was a substantial factor in causing [name of plaintiff]’s harm.
until Boris posts the legal papers from Nike (ie the summons and complaint) and a copy of the Nike contract, and gives his point of view, we can only speculate.
NIKEMAN: Please explain the thuggish actions of your company.
If the situation does not call for another entity (e.g. New Balance or his agent) to indemnify him or even have its/their own lawyers defend him, then I suggest that Boris look into counsel who will handle it pro bono. Many state bar organizations have foundations and the like that provide pro bono legal services to individuals and businesses whose net worth is below a certain amount. He should look on the appropriate state bar website to see if there is such a thing. My guess is that some attorney out there would love to handle this pro bono, given the publicity that it would likely generate.
Pro Bono wrote:
If the situation does not call for another entity (e.g. New Balance or his agent) to indemnify him or even have its/their own lawyers defend him, then I suggest that Boris look into counsel who will handle it pro bono. Many state bar organizations have foundations and the like that provide pro bono legal services to individuals and businesses whose net worth is below a certain amount. He should look on the appropriate state bar website to see if there is such a thing. My guess is that some attorney out there would love to handle this pro bono, given the publicity that it would likely generate.
Also, many law schools have pro bono legal clinics where law students, who are supervised by licensed attorneys, represent clients without charge. I'll bet some idealistic law student would jump at the chance to take this one on.
As a practicing attorney, if Boris can post a copy of the complaint then we can see exactly what it is Nike claims he did (or didn't) do. What is the relief Nike seeks - an injunction or money damages? Even if it has a case, it would be very nasty for a rich corporation like Nike to extract money from Boris. Despite his recent terrific successes, I'm sure like most track athletes he's not drowning in cash.
Berian is being served for breach of contract, intentional interference with a contract is a tort, so unlikely they would be served for the same cause of action as there was no privity of contract with New Balance.