Latest news with #Milstein
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jack Nicklaus Defamation Lawsuit Over LIV Golf Kept in Court
A Florida appellate court on Wednesday held that Jack Nicklaus' defamation lawsuit against businessman Howard Milstein and Nicklaus Companies LLC for comments related to Nicklaus and LIV Golf is not barred by a contractual forum selection clause. Nicklaus and Milstein have battled each other in New York and Florida courts over the aftermath of a multi-document, $145 million transaction in 2007. More from Cristiano Ronaldo Hints $550M Saudi Arabia Tenure Is Over Wrigley Field Neighbor Slams Cubs for Rowdy, Disruptive Fan Behavior The Eagles' 'Tush Push' Lives On. Its Trademark Is In Her Hands At the time, Nicklaus sold the company GBI Investors to Milstein in a deal that gave rise to Nicklaus Companies. GBI Investors had licensed Nicklaus' intellectual property—including his NIL and trademarks—and oversaw his golf course design business. The transaction contained four agreements (purchase and sale; limited liability company or LLC; noncompete; and employment) and each contained forum selections, with New York or Florida listed as the applicable state. The relationship between Nicklaus and Milstein eventually soured. The two disagreed about business matters, including the extent to which, and under which circumstances, Nicklaus could license his IP to golf tournaments and other projects. In 2022, Nicklaus resigned from Nicklaus Companies' board. That same year Nicklaus Companies sued GBI Investors and Nicklaus in New York for breach of contract, tortious interference and related claims. In March a judge held that Nicklaus preserved licensing authority for his NIL, including for deals related to golf course design. Nicklaus Companies, however, owns certain trademarks connected to its licensing, golf course design and several brands, including Golden Bear™ and Jack Nicklaus™. New York litigation involving these parties remains on the docket. In the Florida case, Nicklaus is the plaintiff. He argues the defendants defamed him in statements that 'went viral around the world and tarnished his reputation.' The statements concerned Nicklaus meeting with representatives of Golf Saudi in 2021 for the design of a Jack Nicklaus Signature course in Saudi Arabia. At the time, Saudi Golf was planning LIV Golf and eyed Nicklaus for a leadership role. As Nicklaus tells it, he rebuffed Golf Saudi's overtures because he knew it would prove problematic with the PGA Tour, an organization that is directly connected to his legacy as winner of a record 18 major championships. He also insists Milstein and Nicklaus Companies played no meaningful role in his decision. Nicklaus argues that Nicklaus Companies defamed him by claiming Milstein and company officials saved him from moving forward with Golf Saudi. Nicklaus also contends that Nicklaus Companies suggested to clients and others that Nicklaus, 85, was exhibiting signs of dementia and 'needed to have his car keys taken away.' Whether Nicklaus can prove defamation remains to be seen, but a contract-based forum clause defense for Nicklaus Companies won't end the case. Writing for himself and Judges Dorian K. Damoorgian and Ed Artau, Judge Spencer D. Levine affirmed a trial court's denial of Nicklaus Companies' motion to dismiss based on language in an LLC agreement in 2007. The agreement stated that disputes over 'any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this agreement' are heard in New York. Nicklaus Companies asserts that Nicklaus' defamation case is tied to statements and allegations made in the company's lawsuit in New York and are connected to the LLC agreement. Levine disagreed. He wrote the LLC agreement does not apply to alleged defamation. 'No nexus existed,' the judge explained, 'between the defamation claim and the LLC agreement.' Levine explained that the LLC agreement concerned such business topics as 'organizational matters; capital, capital accounts, and members; distributions; allocations of net profits and net losses; operations; interests and transfers of interests; and dissolution, liquidation, and termination of the Company as well as buy-out rights.' Those subjects, Levine reasoned, contrast with Nicklaus accusing the defendants of making 'false statements relating to Nickalus and the new Saudi golf league.' The Saudi matter is 'wholly independent from the LLC agreement.' The Florida case involving Nicklaus will thus continue. In a statement shared with Sportico, a spokesperson for Nicklaus Companies stressed the appellate court 'did not rule on any issue of fact in favor of one party or another' and instead ruled on where a trial would be held. The spokesperson also mentioned that the Florida court previously 'denied Mr. Nicklaus's motion for punitive damages.' As Nicklaus Companies tells it, the complaint the company filed in New York 'was never given to any reporter, and the facts show the goal was always to minimize public attention while the rights of the parties were properly determined by the New York court,' and no one at the company defamed Nicklaus. 'We maintain the greatest respect for Mr. Nicklaus's legacy and have always hoped to work with him again in some capacity,' the spokesperson said. 'We still hold that hope. In the meantime, we are confident the jury will agree with our position once all the evidence is presented in court.' Best of College Athletes as Employees: Answering 25 Key Questions
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restaino cites court decision on lending practices in latest knock on NFR
Mayor Robert Restaino continued to ramp up his criticism of Niagara Falls Redevelopment last week, noting that a federal appeals court recently upheld a lower court's findings that a bank and lending institution operated by NFR's owners engaged in 'predatory' lending practices that targeted people of color and individuals with low incomes. During his weekly YouTube address on May 2, Restaino referenced a Feb. 19 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to enter into a final judgment awarding four homeowners $722,044 in compensatory damages and four others nominal damages from Emigrant Savings Bank and Emigrant Mortgage Co. for discriminatory mortgage lending. The bank and mortgage companyare owned and operated by the Milstein family of real estate developers in NYC. The brother tandem of Howard and Edward Milstein is the principal investors in Niagara Falls Redevelopment, a company that owns more than 140 acres of land in the Falls, including 10 acres currently at the center of an ongoing eminent domain claim initiated by Restaino's administration. In a video broadcast on his YouTube channel, Restaino pointed out the appeals court decision upheld a jury determination that Emigrant officials engaged in 'improper loan practices to low-income communities and people of color in New York state.' Restaino said the ruling shows the bank and mortgage company management — the same people who own and operate NFR — had a 'genuine disdain' for 'people trying to improve themselves.' 'The information is public,' Restaino said of the court decision. 'It's all available. There's no secret to it. I don't know how much more information people in the community of Niagara Falls and public officials throughout the region need for them to say enough is enough with this group. This group has done nothing but continue to be a stumbling block and impediment to the growth of the region.' The law firm Relman Colfax represented eight Black and Latino borrowers who had done business with Emigrant, which they claim ended in grossly unfavorable loans. In June 2016, a jury found that the bank owned by the Milstein family should be held accountable for lending practices that contributed to the 2008 financial collapse. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the defendants' practices of 'unfair and deceptive loans' served as a 'textbook example of reverse redlining,' a practice in which minority communities are targeted with loans destined to fail, leaving borrowers and their families without homes or facing foreclosure proceedings in deals that were financially beneficial to the lender. Emigrant appealed the jury verdict and the district court's post-trial order. In its February decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed all aspects of the judgment of the district court. Emigrant representatives released a statement expressing disappointment in the appeals court's 2-1 decision, while noting that the matter remains under appeal. Emigrant representatives noted that the case included a strongly worded dissent by one of the appellate judges, Micheal Park, who wrote: 'In this case the district court sent untimely claims to an improperly instructed jury two separate times. To affirm the resulting judgment, the majority bless significant legal errors and upends established doctrine.' Emigrant noted that the judge also noted that the jury in the case was given faulty instructions that allowed it to find liability without any evidence of discrimination. They also noted that the second trial, which was held solely on the question of damages, awarded less compensation than the first, lowering the damages by one-third, resulting in four of the eight plaintiffs receiving only $1 each in damages. 'Emigrant stands by its commitment to ensure the availability of lending in communities long ignored by other banks, and we believe we will, ultimately, be vindicated here,' the statement from Emigrant reads. Restaino's comments on the appeal court's decision in the Emigrant case represent just the latest salvo he has fired against NFR as he continues to attempt to justify his administration's contention that the city has the legal right, under its power of eminent domain, to seize part of the company's property for the purposes of building the mayor's proposed $165 million events campus and arena known as Centennial Park. The city has successfully argued in court that it has legal right to 10 acres of NFR's land needed for the arena project, however, Restaino and the city's private attorneys from the law firm Hodgson Russ have recently argued that 5 of those acres — an area previously described publicly as 10th Street 'park' — already belong to the city due to NFR's failure to properly acquire it from the state years ago. On May 2, Restaino again insisted that while NFR contends no such approval was needed because the land was not parkland, the city has presented photographic evidence of on-site baseball diamonds, affidavits, maps and engineering designs dating back to 1942 that he claims support the administration's position. 'It's just a question of trying to interfere and be difficult with the City of Niagara Falls as the Milstein group has done for nearly 30 years,' Restaino said, referring to NFR's stand against the city's parkland claim on the 5-acre parcel. NFR spokesperson James Haggerty described Restaino's arguments regarding the company's private property as 'inane,' saying the mayor is 'basically suggesting a property owner give up their legal rights without due process because he says so.' Haggerty suggested Restaino continues to wrongfully assert that the 5 acres on 10th Street belong to the city, even though his predecessor, former Mayor Vince Anello, determined 20 years ago that the public trust doctrine did not apply to the city's conveyance of the land to NFR. 'Mayor Restaino apparently wishes to rewrite history, cause the city to try to renege on a lawful transaction, and expend more public money on fruitless litigation, all to try to acquire property for an event center it has no money to build,' Haggerty said. 'There is still a constitutionally protected rule of law in this country. It seems politicians of all stripes are more than willing to forget that these days.' Haggerty also questioned what he described as Restaino's 'unhinged rants' about a case that went to trial nine years ago, involving a loan program that ended in 2008 where half of the plaintiffs received a single dollar in damages. He suggested the newspaper reminds its readers and Falls residents that Howard Milstein alone has donated millions of dollars to important community causes over the years, including helping first responders in the wake of 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy in New York, the victims of Hurricane Katrina and, more recently, the victims of the Maui wildfires. Haggerty noted that Milstein also provided funding for the New York City Police Department's global counterterrorism efforts through the NYPD Police Foundation and, in the early days of COVID, tracked down and purchased more than one million N95 masks from China that were given to New York hospitals. Haggerty also credited Milstein with helping to support improvements in the nation's infrastructure and in 'groundbreaking' medical research that has helped combat some of the most devastating diseases of our time, including antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases, blood disease, skin cancers and infertility. He also noted that the Milstein family has helped support hundreds of start-up technology companies through their Grand Central Tech program and other technology initiatives and donated $20 million to Cornell for the university's Roosevelt Island technology campus. 'This is what Howard Milstein and the Milstein family has done for communities across the nation and globally, and what they would do for Niagara Falls if only city leaders would work with us,' Haggerty said. Haggerty also said that, despite disagreements with Restaino and the mayor's persistent criticisms, NFR remains committed to carrying out a proposed $1.5 billion data center with its partner in the project, Urbacon. That project, according to NFR's plans, would begin with a first phase targeted for the same 10-acre plot Restaino wants for Centennial Park. 'Despite the mayor's rants, and despite the nasty personal attacks, NFR is still willing to work cooperatively with the City of Niagara Falls for the benefit of its residents — more than four years after Urbacon first approached the City with the idea for the $1.5 billion Niagara Digital Campus data center, which would bring technology jobs, unprecedented tax revenue, and opportunity to city residents.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Oregon seal pup stabbed multiple times as NOAA seeking to track down person of interest
An elephant seal pup suffered "multiple stab wounds" in an attack at an Oregon beach, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to launch a search for a person of interest. The NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement said this week that the incident happened on March 16 in Neskowin, Oregon, along a stretch of shoreline in front of the Proposal Rock Condominiums. "While the young elephant seal survived, it sustained multiple stab wounds. The Marine Stranding Team monitored and evaluated the animal before relocating it," the NOAA said in a statement. The agency released a sketch of a person of interest, described as a White male "Approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a standard build, black and white hair, a groomed beard, and a large gap between his front teeth." 'Odd-looking' Deep Sea Fish Washes Up On Beach, Surprising Locals The NOAA, citing a witness, added that the individual was wearing a "black cap with a flat front and a logo depicting an orange four-track excavator with the word 'Timber'." Read On The Fox News App "We are also seeking information about the owner of a vehicle that may be associated with the person of interest," the NOAA also said, describing it as a cluttered-looking dark blue 1990s Dodge or Chrysler van that had the rear passenger window on the driver's side covered in plastic. Pet Raccoon Caught With Meth Pipe In Its Mouth When Cops Pulled Over Ohio Woman Following the attack, the seal's wounds were healing, it had grown to about 300 pounds and there were no signs that the stabbing was going to have "lasting effects," Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries West Coast region, told The Associated Press. The seal that was stabbed likely left its mother very recently and was on its own to learn to hunt, Milstein said. Once it had grown a bit more, it would have likely made its way back to breeding areas around the Channel Islands off Southern California. The NOAA said "Harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild elephant seals is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act" and "Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Oregon seal pup stabbed multiple times as NOAA seeking to track down person of interest
Fox News
08-05-2025
- Fox News
Oregon seal pup stabbed multiple times as NOAA seeking to track down person of interest
An elephant seal pup suffered "multiple stab wounds" in an attack at an Oregon beach, prompting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to launch a search for a person of interest. The NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement said this week that the incident happened on March 16 in Neskowin, Oregon, along a stretch of shoreline in front of the Proposal Rock Condominiums. "While the young elephant seal survived, it sustained multiple stab wounds. The Marine Stranding Team monitored and evaluated the animal before relocating it," the NOAA said in a statement. The agency released a sketch of a person of interest, described as a White male "Approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a standard build, black and white hair, a groomed beard, and a large gap between his front teeth." The NOAA, citing a witness, added that the individual was wearing a "black cap with a flat front and a logo depicting an orange four-track excavator with the word 'Timber'." "We are also seeking information about the owner of a vehicle that may be associated with the person of interest," the NOAA also said, describing it as a cluttered-looking dark blue 1990s Dodge or Chrysler van that had the rear passenger window on the driver's side covered in plastic. Following the attack, the seal's wounds were healing, it had grown to about 300 pounds and there were no signs that the stabbing was going to have "lasting effects," Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries West Coast region, told The Associated Press. The seal that was stabbed likely left its mother very recently and was on its own to learn to hunt, Milstein said. Once it had grown a bit more, it would have likely made its way back to breeding areas around the Channel Islands off Southern California. The NOAA said "Harassing, harming, killing or feeding wild elephant seals is prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act" and "Violations can be prosecuted civilly or criminally and are punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to 1 year in jail per violation."
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sea lions, dolphins, now a whale: Ocean giant is latest victim of SoCal's toxic algal bloom
A minke whale that was swimming in Long Beach Harbor earlier this month died from domoic acid poisoning associated with a toxic algal bloom that has stricken many other sea creatures, according to officials. Michael Milstein, spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's West Coast regional office, said test results showed the whale had high levels of domoic acid in its urine at the time of its death. "This is consistent with the many other marine mammals we have seen affected by domoic acid produced by the harmful algal bloom off Southern California first detected in February," Milstein said in a statement. "The tests are taking longer since the lab is processing so many." Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms that accumulates in filter-feeding fish — including anchovies and sardines — which are then eaten by seals, sea lions and dolphins. This is the fourth consecutive year there has been a domoic acid event, but this year's started much earlier than previous ones, according to Milstein. The algae bloom was the result of an upswell in the ocean that brought up enough nutrients to the surface to allow the algae to thrive, he said. Other experts also point to climate change and the runoff from the recent fires in Palisades as contributors to the algae bloom. Hundreds of sea lions and dolphins have been affected so far, Milstein said. "This has probably been the most severe, particularly this early in the year," he said. "How long it continues is the question." Read more: More than a dozen sea lions along the Malibu coast are reported sick. What's making them ill? The 24-foot-long minke whale was swimming in the harbor for several days and officials had tried to push it out to sea, only for it to come back, Milstein said. The whale, which is male, was then found dead April 3. Minke whales are considered the smallest of the great, or baleen, whale family, and can grow to more than 26 feet long and weigh as much as 14,000 pounds, according to NOAA. There are about 900 minke whales off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California. They're protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Last week, a dead gray whale was also found washed ashore on Huntington Beach. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach is performing a necropsy to determine the animal's cause of death. Although most of the marine mammals affected by domoic acid toxicity are California sea lions, other animals are also susceptible to its effects, according to the Marine Mammal Center. Read more: Trump administration cuts to NOAA threaten efforts to save sea lions from toxic plankton Domoic acid has been found in blue and humpback whales, as well as Guadalupe fur seals, which is a threatened species. Ingesting domoic acid from harmful algal blooms can cause sea lions and other animals to have seizures or to crane their heads in a motion known as 'stargazing.' They can also fall into a comatose state. Experts advise people not to interact with animals believed to be sick because they might aggressively lunge or even bite. Milstein said it's unlikely that the domoic acid event will have a significant effect on the overall population of marine mammals off the Western coast. "There's a silver lining to the incredible productivity of the California ecosystem," he said. "On one hand it is feeding the algae bloom, but it's also responsible for the incredible diversity of species we're fortunate to have off the West Coast. These species are pretty strong and resilient and they have shown that over the year." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
