Suit: 'Fatally Flawed' Buyout Pact and Bad Advice from King & Spalding Cost Thrashers Owner $194M
A “fatally flawed” buyout agreement drafted by King & Spalding for the majority owner of the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team cost $194 million in lost franchise value, operating costs and legal defense expenses, contends a Georgia lawsuit (PDF).
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported on the suit, which was filed today in Fulton County Superior Court.
Eventually declared void by a court, the “botched” document was rendered even worse by King & Spalding “misinterpreting the contract and repeatedly rendering advice that was poorly considered, self-interested, and, in many cases, blatantly wrong,” the suit says. “And, when the contract’s flaws led to plaintiffs being sued in Maryland, the firm improperly represented them despite serious and undisclosed conflicts of interest.”
Asserting claims for malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty, the suit seeks punitive damages and attorney’s fees in addition to compensatory damages. It was filed by Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles.
Alston & Bird is representing King & Spalding.
