News

COSTA MESA, Calif., July 12, 2006 – Attorneys Steven J. Goon and Bradley A. Chapin of Rutan & Tucker LLP, California’s largest full-service law firm based in Orange County, successfully defended NFL standout Terrell Owens against a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court. The plaintiff, Formulated Sciences, Inc. (FSI), a Lake Forrest, California-based nutritional supplement company, originally sued Owens and his former agent, alleging over $35 million in damages based on allegations of breach of endorsement agreement, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. The allegations stemmed from a 1999 endorsement agreement in which Owens was to provide endorsement services for the small Internet company. Representing both Owens and his former agent, the attorneys at Rutan & Tucker successfully knocked out all of FSI’s claims except the breach of contract claim, which was the focus of a jury trial in May. Attorneys Goon and Chapin tried the case for nearly two and half weeks before the case was submitted to the jury. Despite being asked to award FSI approximately $1.7 million in damages, the jury needed only three and half hours to deliberate before deciding that Owens had done nothing wrong. “One of the obvious concerns going into trial was whether the jury would get caught up in Owens’ controversial public image,” Goon said. “As expected, Formulated Sciences tried to make the case about Owens’ public image and not about the facts at issue. But at the end of the day, the facts were clear and the jury got it right.” Rutan & Tucker has a rich history of representing high-profile athletes such as Jerry West, Dennis Rodman, and Karl Malone, and the late Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn, to name a few.