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As the PGA Tour and LIV Golf Series prepare to move forward with their alliance, they’ve reportedly taken steps to end their ongoing litigation against one another.
According to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, the PGA Tour, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the sovereign wealth fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, “filed a motion on Friday to voluntarily dismiss with prejudice all legal claims against each other in a federal antitrust lawsuit.”
The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. As part of the agreement, LIV Golf reportedly voluntarily dismisses with prejudice its claims against the PGA Tour, and the Tour voluntarily dismisses with prejudice its claims against LIV, the Public Investment Fund and Al-Rumayyan.
The “with prejudice” caveat means that LIV Golf’s antitrust claims can never be filed again, nor can the Tour’s counterclaims that LIV interfered with their players’ contracts.
While the two sides are prepared to end their legal proceedings, they will turn their attention to the other potential battles on the horizon to secure their partnership. Schlabach noted that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a review of the planned alliance, as has the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
The PGA Tour had already faced scrutiny from Justice Department officials due to their alleged monopolistic practices. As part of the federal antitrust lawsuit filed by 11 LIV Golf players in August, the Tour was accused of “using its monopoly powers to quash competition and discourage vendors, media companies and others from working with LIV Golf,” per Schlabach.
