Murrays Are Sued By Former Adviser

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 21st November 2013

Murrays Are Sued By Former Adviser

epa03913703 Wimbledon champion Andy Murray (2-L) stands with his parents Judy (L) and Will (R) and his long time girlfriend Kim Sears (2-R) at Buckingham Palace in central London, Britain, 17 October 2013, where the tennis player was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. EPA/John Stillwell UK and Republic of Ireland Out, no commercial sales EDITORIAL USE ONLY |

On the face of things, life is going well for Wimbledon champion Andy Murray as he successfully steps up his rehabilitation by hitting tennis balls again on Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park.

But behind the scene there are legal problems as the world no.4 and his parents, are about to be sued in the London High Court by a Texas-based former adviser who insists he is legally entitled to a portion of the star’s fortune.

Almost a decade ago David Cody was appointed as an exclusive professional career adviser to both Murray and his divorced parents, Judy and Willie on agreement he would receive 10% of gross payments from all commercial and sponsorship deals entered into during, or renewed after an initial term of two years. He left Team Murray in 2005 after being formally given six months’ notice and was later given a payoff of £65,000 ($105,000).

Now Cody has alleged he lost out from a lucrative Royal Bank of Scotland sponsorship deal, which the Scots player first signed a decade ago and claims he would never have accepted the payment had he known the player was going to a renew a two-year contract with the bank in 2006.

Details of the court action emerged this week as the case was given a preliminary hearing at the High Court in London.

The Murrays are reported to have detailed his former agent Patricio Apey, of the London-based Ace Group, to negotiate the termination settlement with Cody, and did not deal with him directly. Cody is now claiming he has no assets and nothing but bank debts.

However the High Court’s Judge David Donaldson is deliberating and said: ‘He (Cody) alleges that he was told by Mr. Apey during the negotiations that the 2004 RBS agreement had not been renewed and that it was uncertain that RBS would continue to sponsor Andy Murray.

“The Murrays respond that Mr. Apey said no such thing and that it is clear Cody was well aware of the renewal and had negotiated overtly on that basis.”

The claims have yet to reach court but, in a preliminary skirmish, the Murrays applied for security of legal costs, meaning Cody would have to make an up-front payment to cover their legal bills, which the judge said were ‘likely to be at least £150,000’ ($240,000).

Judge Donaldson said he was ‘not satisfied’ that Cody was penniless and ordered him to pay £18,600 ($30,000) into court as security for the Murrays’ costs within 28 days. Until he pays up, he will be unable to proceed.

Meanwhile Murray has applied to trademark his name to protect his lucrative image rights and give him exclusive control over his own merchandise, so preventing more than 100 different goods and services from using his image.

Several applications to trademark his name were made by people unconnected to the star following his Wimbledon win.

Murray’s application, which has been published in the Trade Marks Journal, includes bans on DVDs, games, sportswear, calendars and stationery using his name without permission. Among some of the more unusual items listed are lingerie, baby clothes, Halloween costumes, toy dolls, roller skates and surf boards.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, David Cody, Judy, Murray, Tennis, Tennis News, Willie

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TennisReporters says:

November 21, 2013 at 8:53 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Murrays Are Sued By Former Adviser: On the face of things, life is going well for Wimbledon champion A… http://t.co/ZqY…
sixtwosixone says:

November 22, 2013 at 7:09 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Murrays Are Sued By Former Adviser: On the face of things, life is going well for Wimbledon champion A… http://t.co/ZqY…