Jack Nicklaus’s former company has filed voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases after the golf legend won a $50 million award in a defamation lawsuit against the company last month.
Nicklaus filed the 2023 lawsuit against Nicklaus Companies LLC; the company’s executive chairman and billionaire banker Howard Milstein; and executive vice president of Nicklaus Companies Andrew O’Brien. It centered on statements made in another lawsuit filed in New York.
Nicklaus’s attorneys argued that the New York lawsuit included false claims that Nicklaus wanted to accept a leadership role with the controversial Saudi golf league LIV Golf, and those claims were widely circulated to news reporters, clients and others in the golfing world.
In October, the Palm Beach County jury determined Nicklaus Companies was liable for actively participating in the publishing of false facts and defamatory statements, awarding the 85-year-old North Palm Beach resident $50 million in damages, according to the verdict. The jury did not find Milstein and O’Brien personally liable, and they will not pay any part of the damages.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus awarded $50 million in defamation lawsuit
Nicklaus Companies in a statement Friday announced it had begun Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, “to protect its employees, clients, and ongoing business operations” and that the filing would “allow the company to proactively address” the jury verdict.
The company in the statement said it disputes the verdict and will “explore” filing an appeal.
“With this filing, both employees and clients of the company can be assured that business operations will proceed as usual during the restructuring process and that Nicklaus Companies’ tradition of excellence will continue unabated,” the statement said.
