Eighteen-time major champion Jack Nicklaus has won $50 million after suing executives at the Nicklaus Companies for damaging his reputation.
Jack Nicklaus has won a defamation lawsuit against the organization that bears his name.
The 85-year-old sued Howard Milstein and Andrew O’Brien, executives in the Nicklaus Companies, in 2023, alleging that the pair had orchestrated a campaign to damage his reputation in a bid to take control of the business.
Nicklaus said the pair were instrumental in the spreading of false rumors that he had negotiated a $750 million deal to join LIV Golf and as a result was no longer mentally fit to manage his affairs. The rumor was repeated by a number of prominent news publications.
“These are the people who planted a story,” Nicklaus’s attorney, Eugine Stearns, told jurors during closing his arguments.
“The story is a lie. What they wanted to create in the minds of the public is Jack Nicklaus is an old guy who sold out to the Saudis.”
According to a report by The Palm Beach Post, the six-person jury heard that the Nicklaus Companies actively participated in the false publishing of facts that exposed the 18-time major champion to “ridicule, hatred, mistrust, distrust or contempt”.
After a four-and-a-half-hour deliberation, the panel delivered their verdict and awarded Nicklaus $50 million in damages.
But they also ruled in favor of Milstein, a billionaire banker, and O’Brien, meaning they will not be personally responsible for any financial damages.
Following the verdict, Nicklaus shared hugs with his friends and family, and answered questions via his lawyer.
“We tremendously appreciate the time that the jury put into this case,” Stearns said.
“They were extraordinarily conscientious and dedicated, and I’m not going to quarrel with their outcome, because it really was their decision.”
Attorneys for the defendants said the company may issue a statement at a later time.
