Advertisement

Civil lawsuit filed against NWHL, Rylan for $650K in damages

Civil lawsuit filed against NWHL, Rylan for $650K in damages

For the first time in the history of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), they are getting sued.

The league's former Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Moran has followed through on threats made by his attorney, and filed a lawsuit against the league and commissioner Dani Rylan.

According to Meg Linehan of Excelle Sports:

"Moran’s lawsuit demands $200,000 for breach of contract. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 93A, Moran is seeking treble damages plus attorney fees. In addition, there is a separate cause for what is called quantum meruit—Moran is seeking $50,000 for the services he performed as Chief Marketing Officer for the NWHL from February 2015 to October 2015."

According to Wikipedia, treble damages is "a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual/compensatory damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff. Treble damages are a multiple of, and not an addition to, actual damages."

Basically, take the $200,000 he wants and multiply it by three. Then add the extra $50,000 he's requesting through a stipulation called 'quantum meruit.' Essentially he wants money for doing work for the league, but the exact amount is not listed in a legally binding contract.

Read the full lawsuit here:

Civil lawsuit filed against NWHL by Puckdaddyblog

As reported by Linehan, "Moran and his attorneys allege Rylan and the NWHL’s actions 'constitute unfair and deceptive business practices.'"

The Associated Press added:

"Moran is demanding his investment back after a dispute occurred with NWHL Commissioner Dani Rylan over what he says was his 40-percent stake in establishing North America's first league to pay female players a salary."

Moran alleges that he and Rylan agreed back in 2013 to his owning of a 40-percent share and Rylan would get 60-percent; however, the agreement was never put in writing because as the lawsuit states "because Moran and Rylan were friends and had been friends for years."

Additionally, according to the AP, Moran "discovered an email Rylan had sent to another individual indicating Moran had only a two-percent share." No word on how he discovered the email.

In a comment to the AP, the NWHL called this "frivolous and personal," and "a malicious attack to undermine Dani Rylan."

"The intentions of the individual who filed it were never about business or recouping finances, but a malicious attack to undermine Dani Rylan and the work of many behind the scenes," the league's statement said. The NWHL said it will provide a further response in legal documents being prepared by its attorneys."

- - - - - - -

Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY: