After failing to qualify, Vendt sues swimsuit maker
Former Member
sports.espn.go.com/.../story
Less than a week after failing to qualify for an individual event at the U.S. swimming trials, Olympian Erik Vendt filed a countersuit Thursday against a California company that claims he broke his contract by choosing to wear a rival swimsuit.
Vendt made his own breach-of-contract claims against TYR Sport in the federal lawsuit filed in California. He also sued the company for slander, alleging that comments made by its attorney, Larry Hilton, have cost the swimmer other endorsement deals.
TYR went to federal court in May with an antitrust case that claims USA Swimming has been working with Speedo to ensure all Americans wear that company's LZR Racer suit at the Beijing Olympics, even if they have deals with other companies such as TYR.
Also named in the suit were U.S. head coach and general manager Mark Schubert, who has openly touted the benefits of the Speedo suit while also working as a paid spokesman for the company, and Vendt, who had an endorsement deal with TYR but switched to the LZR Racer this year.
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Former Member
Nothing like another frivolous lawsuit. Why not just sue his coach also for poor preparation, and sue people who designed the pool. Maybe he had a bad breakfest at the pancake house and he can sue them also for having indigestion while he swam.
For all practical purposes, Vendt has no choice but to raise this now. TYR initiated the suit, not Vendt (TYR sued him for alleged anti-trust violations -- which strikes me as a potentially more frivolous than his claim of slander). Under the rules in Federal court, counterclaims are generally "compulsory;" if Vendt doesn't raise his claims now, in response to TYR's suit, he waives them. Besides it's usually bad litigation strategy to assume a purely defensive posture. Vendt would be seriousy handicapped in defending himself if he didn't raise these claims now (and his time to do so under court rules may be running out, so he may not be able to wait until after the Olympics).
Nothing like another frivolous lawsuit. Why not just sue his coach also for poor preparation, and sue people who designed the pool. Maybe he had a bad breakfest at the pancake house and he can sue them also for having indigestion while he swam.
For all practical purposes, Vendt has no choice but to raise this now. TYR initiated the suit, not Vendt (TYR sued him for alleged anti-trust violations -- which strikes me as a potentially more frivolous than his claim of slander). Under the rules in Federal court, counterclaims are generally "compulsory;" if Vendt doesn't raise his claims now, in response to TYR's suit, he waives them. Besides it's usually bad litigation strategy to assume a purely defensive posture. Vendt would be seriousy handicapped in defending himself if he didn't raise these claims now (and his time to do so under court rules may be running out, so he may not be able to wait until after the Olympics).
