Baseball legend Roberto Clemente's family accused of reselling life story
A lawsuit has been filed in LA Superior Court involving late baseball legend Roberto Clemente. The suit alleges that two of Clemente's family members and their agent, CMG, sold rights to his life story, nearly 50 years after his death. This occurred despite another production entity, Inside the Park LLC, claiming they were granted "an exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase the rights to his life story."
Here's what exactly happened
Per the lawsuit, the plaintiff contends that last year they were granted an "exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase the rights for a feature film based on Roberto Clemente's life and the book Clemente - The True Legacy of an Undying Hero." However, after the project gained publicity, producer Jonah Hirsch and actor-producer AJ Muñoz discovered a rights issue. Further, the lawsuit reveals that the Clemente family had an earlier option agreement with Legendary Pictures Productions, "that had not expired."
Allegations of fraud and breach of contract
Inside the Park alleges that they were sold these rights as a means to generate renewed interest in Clemente's story. This included a $60M mini-series deal for the Clemente family and a multi-year seven-figure sponsorship deal with Capital One for naming rights to Roberto Clemente Day with Major League Baseball. The lawsuit states, "After Plaintiff worked for two years...to get the Roberto Clemente film project off the ground, Defendants's fraud and breach of contract has caused Plaintiff substantial reputational damage."
Lawsuit sought declaratory relief and damages
The lawsuit includes claims of "breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith, and fraud," reportedly. It seeks declaratory relief as well as unspecified damages and a declaration that Inside the Park has exclusive ownership of these rights. The plaintiffs claim they have lost more than a staggering $5M pursuing this project. The lawsuit includes Luis Clemente and Roberto Clemente Jr., the sons of the baseball legend, along with their licensing entity, 21 in Right.
