US Tour sues Ginn Company for

breach of sponsorship contract

Forty-eight hours after a tournament sponsor, the Ginn Company, walked away from a multi-year agreement to hold a US PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament, without paying a customary buy-out fee to break the deal, the US Tour filed suit in a Florida civil court for breaching the contract.
On Wednesday, the struggling Ginn Company surprised and angered tour officials by publicly pulling the plug on a Champions Tour event in Palm Coast, Florida. The tour learned of the real-estate development company's decision by E-mail at the same time the national media was notified.
Ginn, which weeks earlier had bought its way out of a sponsorship deal to sponsor a full-fledged PGA Tour event, didn't agree to a buy-out before balking on the seniors' tournament.
For any economically battered tour sponsor considering taking the same blunt tack to escape its sponsorship obligation, the filing today seemingly serves as a clear warning. The tour filed a 32-page suit in Flagler County (Fla.) civil court, serving notice it would be seeking more than $15,000 in damages, a common figure cited in early litigation filings.
Among other allegations, the tour claims that Ginn -- mired in a slew of class-action suits and bankruptcy proceedings already -- failed to produce the letter of credit for the prize money, which was due five months ago.
The tour claims it will be out of pocket for "monetary damages, including but not limited to Ginn's agreed-upon contribution to tournament purses, as well as lost television fees and other revenues from the tournament."
The outside counsel who filed the case, Graham Allen of the Jacksonville firm Rogers Towers, referred calls to the tour.