The battle between LIV Golf and the PGA continues with LIV claiming immunity in the U.S. court fight.
Key Details
- Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund has claimed immunity in the court battle between the PGA Tour and the fledgling competitor LIV Golf.
- The PGA is asking for evidence in the fight—but the wealth fund claims immunity saying it doesn’t have to provide any evidence in court.
- The Public Investment Fund (PIF) says it has “high-level oversight” but doesn’t manage LIV’s daily operations and will not provide any documents.
Why it’s news
The fight between LIV Gold and PGA has been continuing for months with the two battling in court.
The PGA Tour suspended players for joining the LIV league which in turn caused the players to sue the PGA. Following that the PGA countersued LIV for brand and reputation damage.
The fight continues in U.S. court with the latest news being that Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund has claimed immunity in the battle.
The PGA asked LIV for documents accusing the league of offering unfair advantages to players causing them to leave the PGA. PIF said it has high oversight of LIV, but does not control the league thus having immunity from providing any documents.
If the fund were to produce documents that would open it up to being sued anytime there is a legal dispute in a company it invests in, including Uber Technologies Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Walmart Inc., according to the court document.
The fund says the PGA isn’t really interested in getting documents, but instead is attempting to make its lawsuit about the government of Saudi Arabia, reads the document.
The PGA has yet to make a comment on the situation.
