Zion Williamson's Attorney Files for Immediate Judgment in Prime Sports Lawsuit
May 20, 2020
Zion Williamson's lawyer has requested immediate judgment in the New Orleans Pelicans star's favor in the federal lawsuit against him, per sports betting attorney Daniel Wallach:
Daniel Wallach @WALLACHLEGALBREAKING: Zion Williamson files motion for judgment on the pleadings in the NC federal court action. He seeks immediate judgment in his favor declaring the agreement with Gina Ford void based on her violation of the UAAA by virtue of her pre-April 2019 meetings with his family. https://t.co/N5CCFobPuH
According to Michael Gordon of the Charlotte Observer, "In his motion to U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs of Winston-Salem, attorney John Wester argued that the agreement Williamson signed with Florida agent Gina Ford and Prime Sports Marketing in April 2019 violated [a North Carolina] law designed to protect student-athletes from unscrupulous agents."
Williamson is embroiled in a legal battle with Ford's Prime Sports Marketing, which is claiming Williamson breached the five-year exclusive marketing and endorsement contract he signed with them when he left for CAA in May 2019, per Wallach.
Williamson has countered that Prime Sports Marketing violated the Uniform Athlete Agents Act because Ford wasn't registered to represent athletes in North Carolina, and neither was anyone else at the agency. Wester is requesting that Williamson's agreement with Prime Sports Marketing be voided entirely, claiming it was never legal in the first place.
Gordon added that Wester argued "the agreement failed to include a required warning to the player of the ramifications of signing with an agent, including the loss of his college eligibility," which is also required by the Uniform Athlete Agents Act.
Williamson filed a lawsuit against Prime Sports Marketing in North Carolina. The agency responded with a $100 million lawsuit of its own in Florida and a countersuit in North Carolina.
It also made a requests for admission in its suit, claiming that Williamson, his mother Sharonda Sampson and his stepfather Lee Anderson received impermissible benefits from Nike, Adidas, Duke University and an NCAA-certified agent.
Williamson, 19, appeared in 19 games for the Pelicans this season, averaging 23.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three.