In a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for Northern California on Monday, LIV Golf League’s attorneys claimed that the circuit is generating virtually no revenue.
LIV Golf, which is being financed by Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, asked U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman to deny the PGA Tour’s motion for leave to add the Public Investment Fund and its governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, as plaintiffs in the tour’s countersuit against LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour alleges LIV Golf interfered with its contract with players.
The PGA Tour’s attorneys on Monday requested a conference hearing with Freeman to discuss whether the January 2024 trial date, along with discovery deadlines, should be delayed because the Public Investment Fund has allegedly failed to comply with discovery and depositions.
The sides’ arguments will be heard by Freeman in a Feb. 24 case management conference.
“The Tour’s motion to amend should be denied because the amendment would be futile, would cause unfair prejudice, was unduly delayed, and is obviously intended to inappropriately delay the case and resolution of Plaintiffs’ antitrust claims,” LIV Golf’s attorneys wrote in Monday’s motion.
“Delay will equally harm LIV because the Tour continues its anticompetitive conduct while the litigation is pending. The Tour has damaged LIV’s brand, driven up its costs by hundreds of millions of dollars, and driven down revenues to virtually zero.”
LIV Golf’s second season, which includes 14 tournaments, is slated to open Feb. 24-26 at El Camaleon Golf Course in Mayakoba, Mexico.
–Field Level Media