Andrew Ward Lawsuit

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COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR J URY TRIAL
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J ames L. Sanders (SBN 126291)
Email: jsanders@reedsmith.com
REED SMITH LLP
1901 Avenue of Stars, Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6078
Telephone: +1 310 734 5200
Facsimile: +1310 734 5299

Raymond C. Cardozo, Esq. (SBN 173263)
Email: rcardozo@reedsmith.com
REED SMITH, LLP
101 Second Street, Suite 1800
San Francisco, CA 94105-3659
Telephone: +1 415 543 8700
Facsimile: +1 415 391 8269

J ames C. McCarroll, Esq. (Pro Hac Vice Application Filing Pending)
Email: J McCarroll@ReedSmith.com
J ordan W. Siev, Esq. (Pro Hac Vice Application Filing Pending)
Email: J Siev@ReedSmith.com
REED SMITH LLP
599 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: +1 212 549 0209
Facsimile: +1 212 521 5450

Attorneys for Plaintiff
Andre Ward
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
OAKLAND DIVISION

ANDRE WARD,

Plaintiff,

vs.

DAN GOOSSEN and GOOSSEN TUTOR
PROMOTIONS, LLC, INC.,

Defendants.

Case No.:

COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY
TRIAL

Case3:14-cv-03510-MEJ Document1 Filed08/04/14 Page1 of 12
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Plaintiff Andre Ward (Plaintiff or Mr. Ward) brings this action against
defendants Dan Goossen and Goossen Tutor Promotions, LLC (collectively,
Goossen or Defendants), and alleges as follows:
I. NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. Andre Ward is a world-renowned, champion professional boxer and
winner of an Olympic Gold Medal for the United States. He is widely considered to
be one of the top professional boxers in the world, holding an undefeated 27-0
professional record. Mr. Ward is the unified World Boxing Association and The Ring
Super Middleweight Champion. Mr. Ward also previously held the World Boxing
Council title.
2. Mr. Ward brings this action to seek justice and recompense for serial
violations by Goossen, one of his long-standing promoters, of the Muhammad Ali
Boxing Reform Act, 15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq. (the Ali Act) a federal statute
enacted by Congress to protect boxers from exploitation by their promoters.
3. Under the Ali Act and in furtherance of the Acts policy goal to curtail
what had been a persistent practice of exploitation of boxers, both inside and outside
of the ring prior to receiving any compensation directly or indirectly in connection
with a boxing match, each boxing promoter must provide to the boxer specific
financial disclosures concerning all compensation or consideration that a promoter has
contracted to receive from or in relation to the fight. In addition, the promoter must
disclose to the boxer all charges and expenses that will be assessed by or through the
promoter against the boxer pertaining to the fight, as well as any reduction in the
boxers purse contrary to a previous agreement between the promoter and the boxer or
a purse bid held for the fight.
4. Even though Goossen has promoted Mr. Ward for nearly his entire ten
year professional career, and despite repeated requests by Mr. Ward, Goossen failed in
all instances to make any timely disclosures to Mr. Ward under the Ali Act for any of
his fights from 2004 through 2012. Furthermore, in the one and only instance where
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Goossen did provide timely Ali Act disclosures to Mr. Ward, in connection with a
fight he was promoting in 2013, such disclosures were woefully inadequate, failing to
comply with even the most basic provisions of the Ali Act.
5. Accordingly, Mr. Ward brings the instant complaint against Goossen to
recover all damages which he has suffered as a result of Goossens flagrant, serial
violations of the Ali Act, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of all fees
Goossen earned in respect of Mr. Ward, along with an accounting of any fees earned
by Goossen in connection with the promotion of any of Mr. Wards fights, as well as
the recovery of Mr. Wards attorneys fees and costs as provided for under the Ali
Act.
6. Mr. Ward is pleased to have the wherewithal and ability to bring this
action, not just for the recompense it should properly achieve for him, but also to raise
awareness of the ways in which boxers continue to be vulnerable to predatory
practices by unscrupulous promoters.
II. PARTIES
7. Plaintiff Andre Ward is an individual currently residing in Oakland,
California and is a champion professional boxer duly licensed by the California State
Athletic Commission.
8. Defendant Goossen Tutor Promotions, LLC is a limited liability company
duly authorized under the laws of the State of California, with its principal place of
business in Los Angeles County. Its principal business is as a boxing promoter.
9. Defendant Dan Goossen, the President of Goossen Tutor Promotions,
LLC, is an individual citizen and resident of California.
III. JURISDICTION AND VENUE
10. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over this action under 28
U.S.C. 1331 as Plaintiffs first claim arises under the laws of the United States,
specifically, 15 U.S.C. 6301-6313. The Court has supplemental jurisdiction over
Plaintiffs second claim for an accounting pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1367.
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11. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391(b)(2), in that
a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this
District, including the fact that Mr. Ward resides in this District and at least two of the
fights alleged herein took place in Oakland, California.
IV. INTRADISTRICT ASSIGNMENT
12. Pursuant to the Local Rules of the Northern District of California, Rule
3.2(c), intradistrict assignment in Oakland is proper because the action arises in the
City of Oakland, in Alameda County as a substantial part of the events or omissions
that give rise to the claim occurred there.
V. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Mr. Wards Distinguished Boxing Career
13. Mr. Ward is a champion professional boxer and 2004 Gold Medal
Olympian with an unmatched, undefeated 27-0 professional record. Mr. Ward is the
current WBA (Super) and The Ring super middleweight champion, and former WBC
super-middleweight champion.
14. After winning the Super Six World Boxing Classic on December 17,
2011, Mr. Ward unified the WBA (super title), WBC and The Ring Super
Middleweight titles. Mr. Ward is currently rated as the #2 pound-for-pound boxer in
the world by Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and The Ring.
15. As a world-renowned boxer, Mr. Wards bouts generate millions of
dollars in revenue.
B. Goossen and His Role in the Promotion of Mr. Wards Fights
16. Goossen is a licensed promoter for professional boxing matches.
17. Boxing promoters set up and promote fights between boxers. They are
responsible for all facets of the bout, especially all financial aspects associated with a
bout. This means the promoter collects all revenues from a bout and then pays all
expenses, such as each boxers purse, e.g., how much money the boxer takes home for
stepping into the ring.
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18. Since the promoter is the only individual who knows the gross revenue
and expenses resulting from a bout, he has an unfair advantage over the boxer in
negotiations. Thus, the disclosures that the promoter provides to the boxer concerning
the financial landscape of each fight are of paramount importance.
19. From approximately 2004 to the present, Goossen has acted as one of the
promoters for each of Mr. Wards bouts.
C. Congress Enacts the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act
20. Congress enacted the Ali Act on May 26, 2000 to protect the rights and
welfare of professional boxers by preventing certain exploitive, oppressive and
unethical business practices. See 15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.
21. In enacting the Ali Act, Congress specifically recognized that the sport of
boxing operates without any private sector association, league, or centralized
industry organization to establish uniform and appropriate business practices and
ethical standards which lead to repeated occurrences of disreputable and coercive
business practices in the boxing industry, to the detriment of professional boxers
nationwide. 15 U.S.C. 6301, at Sec. 2(1).
22. Furthermore, Congress stated that promoters who engage in illegal,
coercive, or unethical business practices can take advantage of the lack of equitable
business standards in the sport by holding boxing events in States with weaker
regulatory oversight (Id. at Sec. 2(3)), and that it was necessary and appropriate to
establish national contracting reforms to protect professional boxers and prevent
exploitive business practices, and to require enhanced financial disclosures to State
athletic commissions to improve the public oversight of the sport. Id. at Sec. 2(6).
23. As such, the Ali Act specifically prohibits a promoter, like Goossen, from
receiving any compensation directly or indirectly in connection with a boxing match
until the promoter provides to the boxer it promotes (i) the amounts of any
compensation or consideration that a promoter has contracted to receive from such
match; (ii) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed by or through the
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promoter on the boxer pertaining to the event, including any portion of the boxer's
purse that the promoter will receive, and training expenses; (iii) and any reduction in a
boxer's purse contrary to a previous agreement between the promoter and the boxer or
a purse bid held for the event. 15 U.S.C. 6307(e).
D. Goossens Flagrant and Continuous Non-Compliance With the Ali Act
24. As one of Mr. Wards promoters, Goossen was unequivocally obligated
to comply with the Ali Act, and to provide Mr. Ward with the aforementioned
disclosures for each bout prior to receiving any compensation in connection with the
bout.
25. Since the inception of Goossens tenure as Mr. Wards promoter in 2004,
and continuing to the present, Goossen has repeatedly and systematically violated all
disclosure requirements under the Ali Act by failing to timely provide Mr. Ward with
full and complete disclosures.
26. To cite one example, on November 27, 2010, Mr. Ward held a bout in
Oakland, California with Sakio Bika. However, Mr. Ward was not provided with any
of the disclosures required under the Ali Act from Goossen prior to Goossen receiving
compensation in connection with the bout.
27. Similarly, on May 14, 2011, Mr. Ward held a bout with Arthur Abraham.
However, once again, Mr. Ward was not provided with any of the disclosures required
under the Ali Act from Goossen prior to Goossen receiving compensation in
connection with the bout.
28. The same pattern of non-compliance continued for bouts that Mr. Ward
held with Carl Froch on December 17, 2011 and Chad Dawson on September 8, 2012
in Oakland, California.
29. Lulled into believing that Goossen was taking all appropriate actions
required under the law based on Mr. Wards receipt of money from fights and
Goossens continuous role in booking new fights the very false confidences and
manipulation the Ali Act was enacted to guard against Mr. Ward was unaware of
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Goossens complete disregard for the statutory disclosure obligations under the Ali
Act until at least the Spring of 2013, when Mr. Wards manager wrote to Goossen on
April 29, 2013 and, on behalf of Mr. Ward, formally demanded that Goossen provide
an itemization of all revenues and expenses relating to any boxing matches in which
Mr. Ward fought and Goossen served as promoter. Mr. Wards manager also
requested all disclosures concerning any non-direct financial items associated with
each fight including, but not limited to, barter arrangements, multi-bout television and
venue agreements, or any other boxing events originating from Goossens relationship
with Mr. Ward but not necessarily involving Mr. Ward in such events.
30. Mr. Ward manager provided Goossen with a deadline of May 6, 2013 to
provide such materials.
31. Goossen once again violated the Ali Act by failing to provide the
required disclosures prior to May 6, 2013.
32. Even after this time, Goossens flagrant disregard for the requirements of
the Ali Act continued. For example, in early September 2013, prior to Mr. Wards
November 16, 2013 bout with Edwin Rodriguez, Mr. Ward requested the statutory
financial information pertaining to the bout. However, Goossen once again refused to
provide the required information to Mr. Ward.
33. On September 10, 2013, Mr. Ward again requested the statutory financial
information pertaining to his November 16, 2013 bout from Goossen.
34. On September 16, 2013, Goossen finally provided a woefully inadequate
disclosure that did not meet the requirements of the Ali Act. For example, in the
disclosure, Goossen only provided information on certain revenues that Goossen was
contracted to receive in connection with the bout, but failed to disclose any fees,
charges, or expenses in connection with the bout. Thus, Goossen again failed to
comply with the Ali Act in connection with the November 2013 bout.
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35. In sum, for each of the fights Goossen promoted for Mr. Ward since
2004, Mr. Ward has not been provided with full and timely disclosures as required by
the Ali Act. Such misconduct is a blatant violation of the Ali Act.
36. Mr. Ward has suffered economic injury as a result of Goossens repeated
violations of the Ali Act because if Goossen had timely and fully disclosed all
compensation and expenses in connection with each bout to Mr. Ward, Mr. Ward
would have had full and complete information sufficient to determine whether he was
receiving the purses to which he was entitled for each bout, or to negotiate a higher
purse for each fight, if necessary.
37. The Ali Act provides a boxer who was the victim of a violation of the act
with a private right of action to recover, inter alia, all actual damages suffered, court
costs, and reasonable attorneys fees. 15 U.S.C. 6309, at Sec. 6(d). Mr. Ward is just
such a boxer and is entitled to all such damages.
CAUSES OF ACTION
COUNT I
VIOLATION OF THE MUHAMMAD ALI BOXING REFORM ACT
(Against All Parties)
38. Plaintiff realleges the foregoing as if set forth fully herein.
39. Congress passed the Ali Act to protect the rights and welfare of
professional boxers.
40. The Ali Act required Goossen, as Mr. Wards promoter, to make detailed
disclosures to Mr. Ward prior to the receipt of any compensation directly or indirectly
in connection with a boxing match. 15 U.S.C. 6307(e).
41. Specifically, Goossen was obligated to provide Mr. Ward, prior to receipt
of any compensation in connection with a fight, with: (i) the amounts of any
compensation or consideration that a promoter has contracted to receive from such
match; (ii) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed by or through the
promoter on the boxer pertaining to the event, including any portion of the boxer's
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purse that the promoter will receive, and training expenses; (iii) and any reduction in a
boxer's purse contrary to a previous agreement between the promoter and the boxer or
a purse bid held for the event. 15 U.S.C. 6307(e).
42. As set forth fully above, for each fight where Goossen performed
services for Mr. Ward as a promoter since 2004, Goossen failed to provided timely
and complete disclosures to Mr. Ward prior to receiving compensation in connection
with each fight.
43. As such, Goossen has repeatedly and intentionally violated the Ali Act.
44. As noted above, Mr. Ward has suffered economic injury as a result of
Goossens repeated violations of the Ali Act because, if Goossen had timely and fully
disclosed all compensation and expenses in connection with each bout to Mr. Ward,
Mr. Ward would have had full and complete information sufficient to determine
whether he was receiving the purses to which he was entitled or to negotiate a higher
purse for each fight.
45. As a result, Mr. Ward has been damaged in an amount to be determined
at trial.
46. In addition, under the Ali Act, Mr. Ward is entitled to the recovery of all
court costs and reasonable attorneys fees and expenses, along with interest and such
other and further relief the Court deems just, proper and equitable.
COUNT II
ACCOUNTING
(Against All Parties)
47. Plaintiff realleges the foregoing as if set forth fully herein.
48. As set forth fully above, Mr. Ward demanded that Goossen provide a full
accounting of all revenues and expenses relating to any boxing matches in which Mr.
Ward participated and Goossen served as promoter including, but not limited to, barter
arrangements, multi-bout television and venue agreements, or any other boxing events
originating from the relationship with Mr. Ward.
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49. As set forth fully above, such disclosures were required by the Ali Act to
have been made by Goossen prior to receiving any compensation in connection with
any fights promoted by Goossen for Mr. Ward.
50. However, to date, Goossen has refused to provide such an accounting to
Mr. Ward thereby preventing Mr. Ward from ascertaining whether he should have
received a higher purse for each bout and/or whether any expenses deducted from his
purse were improper or excessive.
51. Mr. Ward therefore requests that Goossen be ordered to provide a full
accounting of all revenues and expenses relating to any boxing matches in which Mr.
Ward participated and Goossen served as promoter including, but not limited to, barter
arrangements, multi-bout television and venue agreements, or any other boxing events
originating from the relationship with Mr. Ward, even if Mr. Ward did not participate
in such events, along with such other and further relief the Court deems just, proper
and equitable.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Mr. Ward demands the following relief against Goossen:
A. An award of compensatory damages including, but not limited to, the
disgorgement of all fees received by Goossen in violation of the Ali Act,
in an amount to be determined at trial;
B. An award of punitive damages for Goossens intentional and malicious
misconduct and multiple violations of the Ali Act, in an amount to be
determined at trial;
C. An award of attorneys fees, interest and costs, in an amount to be
determined at trial;
D. An Order directing Goossen to provide an accounting to Mr. Ward of all
revenues and expenses relating to any boxing matches in which Mr.
Ward participated and Goossen served as promoter including, but not
limited to, barter arrangements, multi-bout television and venue
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agreements, or any other boxing events originating from the relationship
with Mr. Ward, even if Mr. Ward did not participate in such events; and
E. Such other and further relief as the Court deems just, proper and
equitable.

DATED: August 4, 2014 REED SMITH LLP

By: /s/
Raymond C. Cardozo (SBN 173263)

And

Telephone: +1 310 734 5200
Facsimile: +1 310 734 5299
jsanders@reedsmith.com

And

J ames C. McCarroll (Pro Hac Vice
Application Filing Pending)
J ordan W. Siev (Pro Hac Vice Application
Filing Pending)
New York, New York 10022
Phone: +1 212 549 0209
Fax: +1 212 521 5450

Attorneys for Plaintiff Andre Ward
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DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 38(b) and the Local Rules of
the Northern District of California, Rule 3-6, Plaintiff Andre Ward demands a trial by
jury of all issues which are properly triable by a jury under applicable law.
DATED: August 4, 2014 REED SMITH LLP

By: /s/
Raymond C. Cardozo (SBN 173263)

And

Telephone: +1 310 734 5200
Facsimile: +1 310 734 5299
jsanders@reedsmith.com

And

J ames C. McCarroll (Pro Hac Vice
Application Filing Pending)
J ordan W. Siev (Pro Hac Vice Application
Filing Pending)
New York, New York 10022
Phone: +1 212 549 0209
Fax: +1 212 521 5450

Attorneys for Plaintiff Andre Ward

Andrew Ward Lawsuit

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