Bodybuilding League Feud Flares Back To Life In Pa.By Matthew Perlman
Law360, New York (January 22, 2016, 5:41 PM ET) -- A feud between two bodybuilding organizations reignited Friday, when the newer league accused National Physique Committee of making disparaging comments about its rival and breaching their settlement of dueling trademark and business harassment claims.
Nspire Sports League LLC and founder Timothy Thompson sued in Pennsylvania federal court Friday, alleging National Physique Committee of the USA Inc. and its president, James Manion, breached a November agreement that had resolved NPC's copyright infringement case and Nspire's tortious interference suit.
The settlement was intended to “clear the way” for the two organizations to compete fairly in the sport of bodybuilding, Friday's suit says, but “the ink on the agreement was hardly dry before defendants began to engage in a pattern of unfair and anti-competitive activities."
The breaches included disparaging tweets from an NPC official and NPC's effort to discourage athletes and vendors from working with Nspire through the use of intimidation, the suit says.
“Defendants further breached the settlement agreement by, on information and belief, intimidating, threatening, punishing, harassing and/or coercing athletes, vendors, and/or sponsors who affiliated with Mr. Thompson or NSL,” the complaint states.
Thompson had founded Nspire after becoming disenchanted with the existing amateur and professional bodybuilding organizations, including the three most influential — NPC, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, and the IFBB Professional League — all of which Manion was an officer of, according to the complaint. Thompson's concerns centered on a lack of transparency in the judging process and organizational finances, as well as a perceived unwillingness to share additional revenues with competing athletes, the suit says.
At the time he broke away from the existing groups, Thompson had been organizing a competition in Houston called the Fitness Space City Championship, which was NPC already sanctioned. An NPC official then contacted Thompson and encouraged him to seek a refund on the sanction, and he was also given assurances that his event would not be interfered with, according to the complaint.
However, shortly after the sanction was relinquish, NPC announced its own event in Houston on the same date as the Space City event, followed by promotional material criticizing the unsanctioned nature of the Nspire competition, the suit alleges.
NPC and Manion then sued Nspire for trademark infringement, cybersquatting and unfair competition among other claims. Nspire countered with its own suit, alleging tortious interference. The sides settled on Nov. 14, according to Friday's complaint.
NPC then immediately violated the compact, the specific terms of which have been withheld because of a confidentiality provision, Friday's complaint states.
“Following the execution of the settlement agreement, defendants commenced breaching the settlement agreement in various ways,” the suit says.
The NPC’s efforts, especially the staging of a competition on the same day as Nspire’s, “dramatically diminished” attendance at the Space City event, according to Nspire, turning an expected $95,000 profit into a net loss of $70,000, the complaint alleges.
NPC and attorneys for Nspire did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
Nspire is represented by Richard D. Anigian and Nick Nelson of Haynes and Boone LLP and Roy W. Arnold of Reed Smith LLP.
Counsel information for NPC was not immediately available.
The case is Nspire Sports League LLC et al. v. National Physique Committee of the USA Inc. et al., case number 2:16-cv-00103, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
--Additional reporting by Jeff Zalesin.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:g19Ftg7FRV4J:www.law360.com/articles/749878/bodybuilding-league-feud-flares-back-to-life-in-pa+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
